Alone Together
by tfacm
Summary: AU. Callie was never sent to juvie. Instead, she was sent to yet another foster home, as was Jude. This new home proves to be just as bad as the last one. When they meet the Fosters, will the Jacob siblings let the family help them or will they stay alone together? Rated T for some violence.
1. Chapter 1

She stood in front of the sink and stared out the dirty window. She wasn't really looking for anything, she just figured the outside world had to look better than this house. Foster home number seven. It was their second night in the home, and so far everything but the home's appearance seemed to be okay. The home looked rundown from both the inside and outside. There wasn't an abundance of food, but there was enough present that it looked like everyone would be fed. The house was small, but it wasn't too crowded because there were only three people living in it: Jude, herself, and their foster father.

The foster father didn't seem to be around much, and when he was, he didn't pay her and Jude much attention. Just like right now. He left the two siblings to do their chores as he sat in front of the tv with a beer in his hand. That didn't really bother Callie though. Of course, they still had to be careful not to do something that would upset the man. One thing that she had learned throughout the six years of being in the foster system was that a drunk, upset man was never a good thing. Even though a sober, upset man didn't turn out to be much better, Callie learned that alcohol increased emotional instability. It made people unpredictable and she did not like situations to get too out of control.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a small voice, "Callie? Are you okay?" She looked down at Jude and realized she had stopped handing him clean plates to dry. "Sorry buddy. I'm fine. I was just spacing out a little." She faked a laugh and forced a smiled as she handed him a wet plate to assure him that she was okay. He nodded his head, silently accepting her weak excuse.

She felt bad for worrying him. She wished this wasn't his life, him always being afraid. She wished she could provide him with everything he deserved. She hoped that soon, Jude would find a forever family before his childhood disappears the way hers did. She prayed that someday in the near future, Jude would find a loving, caring family that would keep him safe. She knows he hasn't really felt safe in over six years and that makes her feel an overwhelming amount of guilt. All she ever wanted was for Jude to be happy, and here, for right now, they were okay. Maybe this house could be an okay place for a little while as long as they stayed quiet and out of the way. However, the sound of a plate smashing on the floor quickly brought Callie back to reality. She looked to Jude who looked like he was about to cry. His face turned pale and his whole demeanor changed. He was no longer a relaxed kid helping his sister clean. He was now a terrified little boy. His fears only seemed to worsen when the sound of heavy footsteps came from the living.

"What the hell is going on in here?!" Their foster father, Marc, entered the small kitchen angrily. When he saw the shattered pieces of glass on the floor, his fury only increased. He glared at the Jacob siblings and screamed, "Who the hell dropped one of my nice plates, huh?! I had to work and earn enough money to pay for that!" Callie spun to face him after trying to console a sobbing Jude. "I'm sorry. That was my fault. The plate was wet and slippery and I just lost my grip on it." She tried to answer Marc as calm as possible. She knew the importance of keeping her composure in check. Another valuable lesson she had learned was the fact that people exploit any weakness that they can find. Showing fear would only make the already bad situation that much more terrible. Being afraid shows vulnerability, and vulnerable is not what you want to be in this type of situation.

Marc looked between the two siblings and directed his next question at Jude, "Is that true?!" Callie looked down at Jude with pleading eyes. Please just say yes. Please let me protect you. She slightly nodded at him in case he couldn't read her pleas. Jude looked at Marc and nodded his head in the affirmative. After doing so he returned to crying. He probably feels guilty... But he has to know I'm doing this to help him, Callie thought. She knew she couldn't try to reassure him right now though. Instead, she stood tall and looked right at the furious man. She had to try to make herself look bigger and braver than she actually was because in reality, she was terrified. His eyes held an anger that Callie was quite familiar with. Predicting what would happen next wasn't hard, and no matter what, she knew exactly what she would have to do. She'd do what she'd always done. She'd protect Jude, protect him with everything she had, and make sure that he does not get hurt.

When Marc stood still with his fists clenched, Callie hoped that maybe he wouldn't try to hurt them. Maybe she wouldn't have to protect Jude from physical harm. She could tell that he was furious. She had to be good at reading people, it's what kept her and Jude alive. The vein protruding from his forehead was an easy indication that he was upset, but he hadn't moved any closer to them since he discovered the situation. He swayed a few times, no doubt from all of the alcohol that he consumed before this unfortunate incident. Maybe this house actually could be a safe place to stay and all Marc would do was just yell at them. However, she realized how ridiculous that thought was when the man started rushing angrily towards her. The distance between them began to shrink considerably, much to Callie's dismay. As Marc grew closer, he started shouting at her, telling her she'll have to pay for what she'd done. "You're gonna regret being so careless in this house! In here, if you do something stupid like this, you will be faced with consequences! I'll make sure you learn your lesson!"

 **Okay so this is my first story. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet so please review! (Positively or negatively)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Warning: This chapter does contain violence.**

* * *

Callie knew she was running out of time. Marc would reach her in about two seconds, and she knew there was no way to properly prepare herself. She shoved Jude behind her so that she was in between him and Marc. Callie braced for the impact she knew was coming as she felt Jude grasp the back of her shirt tightly. No matter how many times it happened, the first hit always came as a shock.

She could see Marc's fist flying towards her face at an alarming rate and closed her eyes. Callie heard the sound of bone on bone before she had the chance to register the explosive pain in her left cheek. Her head snapped back with the force of the punch and her body stumbled to the side. She heard Jude gasp, as his grasp on her shirt forced him to move as well.

That's exactly how Callie wanted it. If she moved, Jude would move as well, so he was always behind her. Staying in the back meant that he was safe, and that was Callie's only job in this situation. She knew Marc wasn't going to make that easy when she felt him grab her hair and harshly pull. She was yanked towards him, and she felt Jude's hand release her shirt. Marc threw her to the ground and she landed with a thud. Pain shot up her left shoulder causing her to consider a dislocated joint. That thought was quickly replaced by fear when she looked up and realized Marc was now between her and Jude.

She had to keep Marc's attention on her because she knew she wouldn't be able to get by him to protect Jude. She could hear Jude's sobs, but Marc's awful words were much louder. She heard an angered "You deserve this" and then a heavy boot collided with her ribs. She wondered if maybe she actually did. Callie knew he wasn't done after one kick, so she tried to curl up in the middle of the kitchen to protect her stomach from too much injury. However, she was proved unsuccessful when she heard a crack when he kicked her again, but she clenched her teeth to keep herself from showing pain. Admitting you're hurt is showing weakness, and she couldn't display that to Marc or Jude. _Jude._ She lifted herself up and looked to find Jude. What she saw broke her heart. He was hurting, probably not as much as she was, but Callie knew that he didn't like when she was in pain.

When Marc threw a kick to her head, her vision swam, and then her arms gave out, causing her body to collapse. Completely on the ground again, Marc returned to assaulting her already burning ribs. The continuous pain mixed with the obvious head trauma was not Callie's main concern, however. What bothered her was the black edges forming in her vision. She could not pass out right now. She had to stay conscious in case Marc decided to go after Jude.

After a few more kicks to Callie's ribs, arms, and legs, Marc slowed his attacks. Him stopping should have made Callie feel relieved, but it actually just made her more anxious. There were only a few reasons to stop. The best one would be that he had grown tired or bored, but that was never the reason this soon. Her head felt ten times heavier than before, but she managed to lift it just enough to see what was going on around her. She saw Marc heading in Jude's direction and had to think of a way to gain his attention again. If he was focused on her for long enough, she could tell Jude to run upstairs and lock their bedroom door.

"Hey! What, are you tired of me already? Am I too much work for you're lazy ass?" She tried to sound confident and rude to show him that she still wasn't afraid of him. Her words must have done the trick because he quickly turned to look down and yell at her. "You have some nerve talking to me like that! Did you not learn your lesson yet?" She spared a glance at Jude when she realized she had done her job. Marc was already charging towards her when she began to slowly push herself off of the ground. She ignored the immense pain in her body as she stood unsteadily on her feet. She used the fact that Marc was drunk to her advantage. When he got close and was about to punch her, she moved. Earlier, she had realized he attacked using his momentum. When he didn't make contact with anything, his body continued going forward and he stumbled past her awkwardly.

Callie took this moment to run to Jude and put him in front of her. She pushed him towards the stairs and told him to run. He grabbed her hand before running and she knew what he was trying to do. Jude was practically dragging her up the stairs when Marc reached the bottom. Callie knew she had to pick up her pace if she wanted to make it to their room as well. She pushed through the pain, with the help of her adrenaline, and began to run with Jude. She could hear Marc's heavy footstep on the stairs as he stumbled closer towards them. They were able to reach their room a lot quicker when Jude's small form didn't have to carry her dead-weight. By the time the siblings were both inside, Marc was right behind them. Callie tried to slam the door quickly, but Marc pushed himself against it to stop her. Jude joined Callie and tried to help with keeping Marc outside. The pushing match was at a deadlock between the two children that were fighting for their lives and one angry man.

"What? Do you just plan to stay locked up in there forever? Open the door! I wasn't even close to done with you!" His fist banged on the door, jarring it open a little bit more. Callie responded fiercely, "Just leave us alone you asshole! We're not gonna let you in so you might as well just give up and go back to drinking your life away!" She didn't know why she was trying to make him angrier, she was just angry at the world and it slipped. Why couldn't her and Jude ever just catch a break with a nice foster home for once? She was shocked when the weight on the other side of the door left and her and Jude were finally able to close the door. Jude quickly locked it when Marc began to yell again, "You know what? You two aren't even worth my time or effort." Callie didn't move though, not until she heard his footsteps walking back down the stairs.

Once Callie knew they were finally alone and partially safe, she turned to put her back against the door and closed her eyes. She slid down the door until she rested on the floor, and she tilted her head back. She considered just sitting like this forever, ignoring the horrible pain, but she was reminded she had a job to do when Jude spoke, "Callie I'm s-so sorry!" With the slight crack in his voice, Callie didn't even have to open her eyes to know he was on the verge of more tears. She quickly got up to hug him and reassure him that it was okay. As she held him in her arms she said, "Jude, don't worry, I'm fine. There's no need to be sorry, it wasn't your fault. Okay?" When he nodded against her, she continued, "Are _you_ okay?" Jude nodded his head again, and she realized he wasn't going to talk. She was okay with that though. She would just sit here in silence for days on end if that's what Jude needed. Callie would hold him, let him cry, and make sure that he was _okay._

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading! Please** **review! I'll try to update every other day or every two days!**


	3. Chapter 3

The siblings sat in silence for what seemed like hours. At first, she was fine. Callie held Jude tightly and didn't have a chance to think about herself. But now, after Jude had fallen asleep, she was just left to think on her own. Eventually, the adrenaline had worn off and now the immense pain had begun to make itself known. Callie knew she had to assess the damage that Marc had caused, but the thought of having to stand up worried her. She had no doubt that any form of movement would only intensify the pain.

As gently as she could, Callie lifted Jude so he wasn't leaning against her so heavily. The simple action caused pressure on her ribs and shoulder. She knew she couldn't just leave him to sleep on the ground. So she slowly stood up as she still supported his weight to keep him sitting up right. When she bent down to pick him up, pain exploded in her ribs, and she had to fight to keep from groaning. For a moment, she did consider leaving him there, but then guilt set in. She wrapped her arms around Jude and slowly lifted him up. With the extra weight on her ribs and shoulder, Callie thought she might pass out. Knowing that she would drop Jude if she fainted made her carry him towards his bed a little quicker. She laid him down carefully, tucked him in, and kissed his forehead.

She crept towards the door and unlocked it slowly. She turned to look back at Jude and then looked out of the room and into the hallway. When she didn't see Marc anywhere, she quickly made her way into the bathroom. Callie flicked the light on and locked the door behind herself. She turned and looked to the mirror. All she could do was stare at the broken looking girl that looked right back at her. Callie's left cheekbone was purple and swollen. The dark coloration caused her to lift her hand up to see if Marc had shattered the tender bone. It seemed to be in tact, so she moved on to her split lip. The cut was small and the dried blood had collected at the right corner of her lip. Callie's main concern about her face was the large wound on her forehead. Marc's boot had done some damage, and she knew it would be hard to hide it. Her coworkers at The Burger Stand would obviously see it and ask questions. That thought made Callie anxious. It had to be about two in the morning, which meant she had work in seven short hours. She had seven hours to make herself look like she hadn't just been abused.

Callie moved on to look at her ribs. She lifted up her shirt so she could get a better view. Her torso was covered in a variety of different shades of blues and purples. As Callie ran her hand along the tender bones, she knew some of them were indeed broken. When her eyes travelled to her shoulder, it didn't look like it was dislocated. It was bruised, and obviously sore, but it didn't appear to be anything more than that. She was relieved to know that her left arm wouldn't be completely useless because that would make defending Jude and herself so much harder.

Satisfied that her injuries didn't seem too serious, she flicked the sink on and washed her face. She had to clean out her wounds and get rid of the dried blood. The cool water stung when it touched her cuts, so she quickly grabbed a towel and dabbed her face until it seemed dry. Callie hadn't even noticed that she was crying until she realized that her cheeks were still wet. She looked up at the mirror, at herself and felt slightly dizzy. To keep herself steady, she held onto the sink and leaned upon it heavily.

Callie couldn't stop the tears that flowed out now. She had stupidly hoped that this foster father would be different. She had gotten careless when they were cleaning, and she had had to pay the price for it. Callie felt ashamed of being so foolish. So she just stayed in this crumby old bathroom, sobbing quietly upon deaf ears.

* * *

When Callie returned to the room that she shared with Jude, she checked the time to find that it was already 4:30 in the morning. She had four hours to get ready for work so her and Jude would have thirty minutes to walk there. She sat down on the side of his bed and drew soothing circles on his back. She knew he didn't like going to work with her on weekends, but there was no way he could be left home alone on Marc's day off.

Callie was lost in thought when she felt Jude stir under her hand. She was immediately brought back to the present when she heard him whimper a small "stop." She wasn't sure what the dream was about specifically, but she knew it couldn't be good. Callie shook Jude gently at first. However, she was forced to push him a little harder when he didn't wake up and the nightmare seemed like it had gotten worse.

He sat up with a start as her name crossed his lips. She could tell he was searching for her in the dark when his head moved from side to side slowly. Callie immediately engulfed him in a warm hug to show him she was there for him. He returned her hug with desperation.

"Shh it's okay. You're okay." Callie tried to reassure him that he was safe, but she felt his head against her chest.

"No. No, it's not okay. You're not okay!" Jude argued back. He may have been right, but she couldn't admit that to him. Callie could tell he was getting worked up about the whole situation and agreeing that she wasn't totally fine would only make it worse. She held his shoulders and created some distance so she could look at him.

"Jude listen buddy. I promise, I'm fine. There's no serious damage that wont heal on its own. I'll still be able to take care of you, so you don't have to wor—." Callie was quickly cut off by Jude, "What about you? Why can't you take care of yourself too?" His eyes looked into hers with a deep sorrow. She answered with one of her "I do buddy. I'm fine." She tried to back it up with a smile, but she knew it probably looked more like a grimace.

Callie tried to quickly change the subject as she removed her hands from his shoulders, "So when I leave for work at 8:30, you're gonna come with me. You can bring your homework and I can help you with it whenever I get the chance. We'll get you some food there too. Okay? I just don't want you home alone today." Jude replied with a simple nod. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and gave him a little squeeze. "I love you Jude." He replied with a smile, "I love you too."

"Why don't you try to get some more sleep. It's still pretty early to get up already." Jude's yawn only confirmed what Callie had just said, and she figured he would just roll over and go back to bed. That thought disappeared when he said he couldn't, that he would just have another nightmare. Callie hated his nightmares because they were usually real memories. She looked at him with a small smile, "Wanna talk about it?"

"It was about last night. I was just really scared Cal."

"Jude you know I would never let anything happen to you. I'll always protect you and keep you safe." Callie was kind of hurt that Jude doubted what she would do for him.

"No Callie I wasn't scared for me. I was terrified for you." His lip trembled when he got to the last part of what he was saying. Tears were falling down his cheeks again and he looked devastated.

"I told you Jude. I'm gonna take care of myself, I promise. I'm fine and I'll always make sure you're fine too. I love you baby." She kissed the top of his head. "Now go to sleep and rest up so you can help me take orders from grumpy, hungry people at work later." She said the last part jokingly to him to lighten the mood. She smiled when Jude laughed and then laid back down.

She played with his hair until she heard his breaths slow down and even out, indicating that he was asleep. Callie knew today was going to be a long day at work, but she was grateful that her job got her and Jude out of the house. Staying home would have been hell because Marc didn't have work today and she figured he spent his days off drinking at home all day. The longer her and Jude were at The Burger Stand, the less time they had to spend with a probably still very upset Marc.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Come on Jude. It's time to go," Callie called quietly from the hallway.

"I'm coming Cal. I just have to get my books and stuff." Jude was still in the room collecting his homework and other things to keep him entertained while his sister worked. When Callie saw him join her in the hallway with a bag on his shoulder, she smiled at him and put a hand on his head to ruffle his hair slightly. She led the way downstairs and towards the door. Before they could leave, they were interrupted by a voice.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" To Callie, Marc sounded like he was still upset about the night before. His words were still slurred, so she figured he had already been drinking this morning.

"We're heading to the library. Jude needs some help on his homework and we need to use the computers." Callie knew not to tell Marc the truth about her job. Foster parents never liked when she was making her own money for herself and Jude. It gave the parents less control over them if Callie could get stuff for Jude by herself.

When Marc didn't answer, she figured they were in the clear to leave. She opened the door and let Jude go first, just as a precaution. Once the both of them had made it safely outside, Callie was able to release the breath that she had been holding in. The twenty minute walk was a quiet one as neither one of the siblings said a word to the other. The silence was a comfortable one, so Callie didn't feel like she had to interrupt it. They reached The Burger Stand with five minutes until Callie's shift started.

"Why don't we find you a seat where you can hangout for the day, okay?" Jude responded with a nod and followed Callie into the building. Callie found him a table for two where she could see him from almost anywhere. She got him settled and brought him some food, but then she had to focus on her job. The morning was never too busy, so she would usually just talk to her friend Daphne, but she was out sick today. She was partially grateful because she couldn't deal with an interrogation about her bruises. The number of customers had only increased by a little at around lunch time. A few people flowed in and out of the small place, meanwhile, Callie just went through the motions.

Her uneventful day had been spent cleaning tables, taking orders, and checking on Jude as much as possible. Currently finishing up cleaning the last table outside, she figured she should probably go back in to make sure Jude was alright.

* * *

 **Stef POV**

It had taken a lot of convincing, but somehow Jesus convinced Lena to let us all go out to get fast food for a late lunch. I wasn't crazy about eating the unhealthy junk food, but Lena was too tired to cook and I was just terrible at it. We were all hungry and no one really wanted to start an argument. The five us got in the car and headed to the closest place.

The fast food restaurant wasn't too busy, so I figured it would be a nice, quick meal with the family. I parked the car right up front so we could all get out and head inside to find seats. I hadn't been to The Burger Stand in ages, but it still looked like it had back then. A young man that didn't seem too thrilled to be working there took our order and told us it shouldn't be too long of a wait.

When we finally sat down with our drinks to wait for the food, I noticed Lena was missing. I looked around the restaurant to find her talking to a little boy. He couldn't have been any older than 13, and he was just sitting at a table all alone. The brunette boy looked like he was a little uncomfortable with Lena's presence, only answering with short sentences or a nod. After a few minutes, he seemed to warm up to her a bit. He smiled and talked to her about what looked like a school book. Leave it to Lena to help a random little boy with his homework.

I got up and decided to join the conversation. I walked over with a smile on my face to show I was friendly. I reached Lena and put an hand on her shoulder. I said a quiet "Hi love" to her as well. She looked up to me and smiled, "Hey Stef. Am I missing lunch?" She asked the question with an apologetic tone.

"Nope we're still waiting. Now who's this new friend of yours?" I asked in a gentle voice when I noticed the young boy looked scared again.

"This is Jude. Jude this is my partner Stef." I could tell that knowing I was a friend of Lena's made Jude more comfortable with me. He answered with a small "hello" and smile. The way he acted, all timid and nervous, was cause for some concern. When Jesus and Brandon were his age, they couldn't stop talking to anyone that would listen. Before I could ask Lena and Jude what they were working on and why he was by himself, a voice filled with desperation interrupted me.

"Jude? Hey, uh, buddy what's going on?" I turned towards the voice to see a teenage girl. Her similarities to Jude led me to believe she was probably his older sister.. The striking difference between the two, however, was the contusions that she had on her face. Her bruised cheek, her cut lip, and the head wound made me nervous for her health. Her features looked calm, but her eyes held the same fear that Jude's had moments before.

I looked back to Jude and Lena who both looked worried. Lena was probably just as concerned about the girl as I was, but Jude didn't have the shock on his face that said this appearance was new to him.

"Uh, Callie, this is Stef and Lena. Lena was just helping me with my homework because you were busy working and I didn't wanna bother you." He looked at her pleadingly, as if he was asking her not to freak out or something. The girl, Callie, seemed to get the message when she sighed loudly. "Jude you know you could've said something. I get a thirty minute break whenever I need it, remember?" When he nodded, she walked over to him and kissed his head. She whispered something to Jude, but I couldn't quite hear her clear enough to know exactly what she said. However, the sad look that Lena gave me made me think that she had. Callie looked back up at us, but she didn't say anything. It just looked like she was studying us, waiting for us to make the first move. I wanted to question her about the bruises on her face, but I figured that would just upset her given her unwariness towards Lena and me.

Lena beat me to it, "So Callie, Jude told me he's twelve. How old are you?"

"Why do _you_ care?" Callie's snarky remark didn't sit well with me. Looking at the elbow Jude gave Callie, I don't think he appreciated it either. The worst part about it was watching Callie's jaw clench and her flinch away when Jude's arm connected with her side. I could only guess that she was hiding more bruises there as well.

"My sister's sixteen." Jude seemed to trust us a lot easier than Callie could. Judging by her injuries, she had more reasons not to trust people. The thought upset me more than I think it should have. I just met these kids, one of which didn't seem to like me or Lena all that much, but their eyes just held so much emotion. I could see the pain and sorrow mostly in Callie's eyes, probably because she had shielded her younger brother from whatever hurt they were forced to endure. I didn't even want to think about their home life, it made me worry even more about their well-being.

"Come on Jude. We have to head home." That girl was definitely in a hurry to get away from us.

"Why? I thought you were working like all day? I don't wanna go home — yet." Jude added the last part after he realized what he had said. Callie's look only confirmed that they both felt Jude had said something wrong. The exchange between the two only heightened my interest even more.

"My boss will be fine with me leaving early. He knows I have to watch you." She seemed to say more with her eyes so that only Jude would understand the rest. I guess he understood it because he started packing up his stuff. "I'll be right back. I just have to tell Ryan." Callie walked out back quickly, obviously not wanting to leave Jude alone with us for too long.

"Jude is everything okay at home? Is that why you don't want to go home?" I surprised myself when I sounded less like a curious cop and more like a caring mother. Lena looked just as shocked too. I guessed that it would be easier to get Jude to open up rather than his sister. I knew I was correct when the small boy opened his mouth to answer, but before a sound could escape his sister was back and he quickly shut it.

"Alright, Ryan said it's fine. Let's go." Callie was certainly in a rush. When she bent down to grab his bag, I didn't miss the signs of discomfort that overtook her features. To my surprise, she didn't stop the process of grabbing it, she just picked it up as if she wasn't in any pain. Her other arm wrapped around Jude's shoulders protectively as she turned towards us. "Thanks for helping him with his homework." She shot a quick smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

Lena responded, "Of course. It was no problem. I could continue to help him if you wanted to keep working." She threw the offer out, but I knew it would get shot down. I didn't miss the look Jude gave Callie, begging her to say yes.

"Sorry, but we gotta go. Thanks for the offer though." With that, Callie ended the conversation by leading Jude out of the restaurant. I didn't like the thought of them walking home alone, but I knew offering would be fruitless.

"Lena, I don't feel too good about that. They were definitely hiding something serious. I'm worried for them. Those bruises looked painful, and did you see Jude's face when Callie mentioned going home?" I knew she saw the fear too, and I knew she was curious as well.

"We can't really do anything about it now Stef. I wish we could, but we don't even know their last names." She paused, "You know we completely missed our family lunch, right?" My eyes went wide when Lena reminded me of that. These two kids, that I had just met, pulled me away from my family. I felt horrible about it, but i felt even worse for those two kids. I promised myself that I would look into it. There was just something about them that stuck with me.

* * *

 **So a couple people wanted the AdamsFosters to be introduced into the story. They will definitely be back soon. Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Warning: There is a short scene with violence.**

* * *

 **Stef POV**

After apologizing profusely to the kids, they eventually forgave me and Lena. Brandon, Mariana, and Jesus had been curious about the two children at The Burger Stand, but once they realized I didn't know much more about them than they did, they seemed to forget about it. I, however, struggled to do so. Three days later and I couldn't get Callie and Jude out of my head.

The two siblings had looked so scared and worried about everything. My cop instincts were battling my motherly ones for dominance. On one hand, I wish I had pushed the kids and forced them to tell me what had happened. Callie's bruises were a cause for concern, and their behavior had only made me even more suspicious. On the other, I wish I had hugged them and never let them go. Their eyes held so much hurt, and as a mother, I hated to see it. Either way, the internal fight didn't really matter because it wouldn't fix anything. It was impossible for me to go back three days and change my actions, and thinking about what-ifs was only going to make me go crazy.

I knew I couldn't travel back in time, but I _could_ travel back to the restaurant to see if either of the siblings were there again. I'd decided to go back this Saturday. All I could do was hope that Callie's schedule stayed the same every week.

* * *

 **Callie POV**

Jude and I were walking home after work on Friday in silence. I was exhausted, and Jude could probably tell. Friday nights were always packed with teenagers and their groups of obnoxious friends. The crowds always made Jude apprehensive, and I felt awful about it. I wish he didn't have to come, but I didn't want to just leave him all alone at home either. It was if he knew I was thinking about him when he spoke up.

"Callie, do you think Stef or Lena will go to your work again tomorrow?" The question wasn't very surprising. Jude hadn't stopped talking about the "super nice ladies" that we had met last Saturday.

"I don't know Jude. But remember I told you that you can't talk to random people like that again. It's dangerous. The people you talk to might not be as nice as Stef and Lena were, okay?" He nodded slowly, but he wasn't quite done.

"But if they are there again, can I talk to just them?" I could here the hope in his voice and I couldn't bring myself to say no.

"Only if I'm there with you okay? If they start talking to you, or you see them and want to talk, find me." I had to make a compromise that kept him happy and safe. I didn't know the two women well enough to leave Jude alone with them. The conversation paused as soon as I noticed that Jude had stopped walking. At first I thought my answer hadn't completely satisfied him, but when I turned to see what he was looking at, I stopped walking too.

Marc's car was parked in front of the house. He was home early, and that was a problem. He was supposed to be working late, until 10:00, so I scheduled my shift so that it ended at 8:30. I wanted to give Jude and myself plenty of time to get home and finish our house work.

"Callie what are we gonna tell him? You said he can't know about your job. I don't have any homework with me so we can't say we were studying." I could tell Jude was extremely nervous. He always rambles when he's anxious about something. I hated to admit it, but I shared the same feelings. I didn't know what to say.

After a few minutes all I could come up with was that we were at my friend's house. We decided my friend's name was Daphne, and technically I was with her… at The Burger Stand. I knew it was a weak excuse, but I had to come up with something quick. The earlier we get in the house, the less time Marc has to start drinking.

We made our way towards the house and up the stairs. I looked at Jude and then unlocked the door. Jude closed the door behind him while I started to look around. I spotted a few empty bottles of beer on the ground and my heart sank. Marc had already consumed a good amount of alcohol tonight.

He stumbled into the living room from the kitchen with two more bottles in his hands. He looked at Jude and me with a strange look, as if he forgot who we were for a moment. Recognition slowly set in, and it was quickly accompanied by anger.

"Where have you two been?" His words were slurred, and they definitely did not hold the concern that most parents would have asked the same question with. I answered with the made up story about going to Daphne's house after school. I could feel Jude retreat behind me in case Marc didn't believe the lie. His answer failed to surprise me, "Why the hell didn't you tell me about that before now?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to bother you." I tried to sound sincere, but apologizing to this man made me feel sick.

"And you're sure you were with this Daphne girl? Because I got a call at work today from some guy named Ryan looking for you. Said you were uncharacteristically late for your shift at The Burger Stand. He looked up my number in your file so he could call to make sure you were okay." With that, my face fell. I was pretty sure I was going to go through hell for this. He wasn't done yelling yet. "Do you think I'm some kind of idiot, or something? Did you think you were smart for giving yourself extra time to get home and do your chores so I wouldn't notice? I want the money that you've earned while you were staying here. All of it." His last statement left no room for discussion. I had just gotten my paycheck today, and I wasn't ready to give it up.

"I haven't gotten paid yet." I'm not sure why I said it, but as soon as the words left my mouth, I knew it was stupid. Jude knew it too because I felt him bump me as if to say "what the hell are you thinking?"

Marc took a step closer towards me. With a sleazy grin he said, "Well if you've got nothin' to hide, you won't mind if I check for myself, right?" The look he was giving me sent chills up my spine. I was frozen in place. When he realized I wasn't going to answer, he moved so that he was right in front of me. I could smell the beer on his breath he was so close, but I still couldn't find the strength to move.

"Let Jude go upstairs first." The sound of my voice surprised me. I don't know how I got the words out, but I knew Marc heard me when he nodded. "Go." I whispered to Jude and he immediately ran past Marc and to our room where he would hopefully lock the door. It was just Marc and me now. When his hand made its way to my front pocket, I closed my eyes tightly. He would certainly find the check, and I would have to suffer because of it. His hand spent way more time searching for the paper than it needed to. Finally, he grabbed the paper and looked at it with a laugh.

"Thanks for the money Sweetheart. Think of it as rent." The nickname made me cringe, but he didn't seem to notice. However, when he tried to caress my cheek, I flew back and away from his touch. I collided with the door, and from the look on Marc's face, I could tell he wasn't pleased. His clenched fists just confirmed my thought. I had messed up big time, and I was definitely going to pay the price.

His fist flew towards my already bruised cheek. I fell to the floor and he kicked me once, but then it was over. I looked up surprised. He just stood there looking at me.

"If these checks stop coming to me, the consequence will be a lot worse than this. Trust me Sweetheart." With that, Marc picked up his beers and sat in front of the TV. To say I was shocked was a huge understatement. I was expecting so much more anger, but I guess all that this guy cared about was money.

I got off the ground slowly due to the pain, but I eventually made it up the stairs and to the bedroom door. "Jude? It's me." With that, the lock clicked and he quickly opened the door. I smiled at him when I saw the worry on his features.

"What happened? Are you okay?" His voice was filled with concern for me and I could see some unshed tears in his eyes. I entered the room and hugged him to reassure him that I was really there and okay. I hated how sacred he gets, but I wasn't mad at him. I was mad that he had to live this awful life. It wasn't fair to him.

"Yeah I'm fine. He took the check and said I have to keep paying him, but other than that, he wasn't that mad." It wasn't a complete lie, Marc didn't seem that upset with the fact that I had a job. I couldn't quit my job now. I might not be able to keep the money I earn, but at least it gets me and Jude out sometimes.

Jude seemed to accept my answer so he just sat on his bed. I followed suit, not knowing how long I could stay standing. I was beyond exhausted, so I got under the covers. I said goodnight to Jude and tried to go to sleep, but I couldn't stop thinking about tomorrow. It was probably just because Jude had gotten to me, but I was almost hoping Stef and Lena were there too. I didn't trust them, I barely knew them, but there was definitely something different about them that interested me.

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading! Please review to let me know what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Callie POV**

I could feel Jude's excitement radiating off of him. We had almost reached The Burger Stand, and I had to jog just to keep up with him. The quickened pace was a painful reminder of the damage done to my ribs, but I couldn't slow down and lose sight of Jude. He reached the building before I could do so, and I could tell it was hard for him not to just run right in. Once I had caught up, I told him he could go. He rushed in and searched the area for any signs of Stef or Lena. I even found myself scanning the room slowly, but I didn't see either of the women. By the look of disappointment on Jude's face, I could tell he came to the same conclusion, they weren't there. I felt bad for him, but I assured him that they could show up at any time.

The morning went by slowly, as usual. However, today seemed extra boring. I had to admit that I was kind of hoping that at least one of the friendly women showed up. I was unsure as to why, I mean I acted pretty rude when they were talking to Jude, but it felt like I was let down yet again. Jude still looked hopeful though. He sat in the seat where he had first met them, and he hadn't stopped glancing at the door yet. His smile was contagious, as he waited patiently. I was glad that he still possessed a young innocence that I had lost while in the system. I had to give up my trust in others so he could keep his, and I would do it all over again if I had to.

* * *

By 3:30, I could tell Jude was losing his hopefulness. His smile had begun to fade as the hours went by and there was still no sign of Stef and Lena. I tried to cheer him up, but I was reminded that I had to work when I was called to help out a new customer that had just arrived.

I made my way over to the counter and looked up to see Stef. She _had_ come. I smiled slightly and she returned the gesture.

"Hey Callie. Nice seeing you here again."

"Uh hi. Its, um, nice to see you too. What can I get you?" I was nervous. I don't know why, but there was something about the way Stef was looking at me that made me feel vulnerable. As if she could read me better than anyone else. I was self-conscious about how bad the bruises on my face looked. If she could read me, she would easily see the pain I was trying so hard to hide.

"Uh, we'll just have two cheeseburgers please."

"Oh is, um, Lena with you?"

"Well right now, I think she is currently with your little brother." I saw Stef smirk at her joke, so I turned around to look over at Jude. Sure enough, he sat across from Lena with a huge smile across his face.

I turned back towards Stef with a smile of my own, "Lena is really good with him. I don't think he's stopped talking about her all week." My eyes went wide. Why did I just say that? I should be mad right now. I told Jude not to talk to anyone by himself, but for some reason, I wasn't very worried about leaving him with Lena. She seemed harmless, but i knew looks can be deceiving.

Stef looked a little surprised at my admission too. She recovered quickly though and said, "Yeah she is pretty great with kids. We have three children and she's a vice principal at their school. So she has a lot of practice."

I wasn't quite sure what to say. Why was she telling me all of this. But I was saved when the two burgers were ready. I handed them to Stef who accepted them with a polite thank you. Then, she handed me a five dollar bill. I looked at her slightly confused as to what she was doing.

"It's a tip Callie. You know, for doing your job?" When I didn't take it right away she continued, "Please take it. You were very helpful." I could tell it was probably just pity money, but I took it anyway. Marc didn't know what I got for tips so I could actually keep some of what I made.

"Thanks." I was still unsure. No one ever just gave five dollars, let alone any money, without an ulterior motive. I was suddenly uncomfortable leaving Jude by himself. There weren't any more customers, so I made my way to the table where he was still talking to Lena. When he looked up at me, he instantly looked guilty. Lena followed his gaze and greeted me kindly.

"Hi Callie. How have you been doing?" The question was innocent enough, but it still made me tense up. It was always a question I had to lie about.

"I'm fine, thank you." I then returned my attention to Jude who was now very interested in the floor. "Jude what did I say about talking to people without me?" With my question, Stef and Lena exchanged a look, silently communicating with each other. As Jude shrugged, Lena spoke up.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable about me talking to Jude, I just saw him sitting alone so I thought he could use some company." Stef seemed to finish the though for Lena, "Yes, Callie. We don't mean to make you nervous or anything. We're just being friendly. A young boy shouldn't have to sit by himself." The two women smiled at me and I was even more confused, and slightly mad.

"Why do you even care? You don't know us? We're not your problem to worry about. I can take care of Jude just fine. We—" Jude cut me off.

"Stop Callie. Stop talking for me. I know people make you feel nervous, but I like talking to Lena and Stef. They're _nice._ " I was a little shocked by Jude's words. He had never talked back to me before. Stef seemed to sense my surprise because she went back to what I had said earlier.

"Callie, we're not trying to take your spot. We were simply having a conversation with Jude. Not that I doubt your ability to take care of Jude, but shouldn't that be your parents job, Sweets?"

* * *

 **Stef POV**

As soon as I asked that question, I knew it was a mistake. I just slipped into cop mode and had to ask the hard questions. Callie had visibly tensed and Jude had finally looked back up at Callie. His eyes were wide and I could tell he was trying to judge what to do. The question almost made him just as uncomfortable as Callie. I looked over at Lena, and I could see her nervousness. She saw Callie shut down, as well. I didn't think either sibling would answer, so I was slightly surprised when Jude did so all by himself.

"We don't really have parents." He mumbled the answer, and I almost thought I didn't actually hear anything at all. I knew I wasn't going crazy when Callie finally responded.

"Jude! This is why I can't leave you alone. This is why I don't want you talking to people." She looked like she was about to explode. This just made me even more curious about the two siblings. There was no way that Callie was 18, so legally, they had to have some kind of parents. I was brought out of my thoughts when Jude argued, "Why is it so bad if someone knows Callie? Why do you always push people away?" He was getting worked up so I stopped him from continuing. I was curios and concerned for the children.

"Jude what do you mean you don't have parents? Do you guys not have a place to stay?" Both Callie and Jude looked at me as if they had forgotten Lena and I were there.

"We're fine. We have _foster_ parents that give us a place to stay. Thanks for the concern, but we're doing just fine." Callie answered the question for Jude, and when he went to add to her statement, she spoke up again. "And now, we're leaving. Let's go, before Marc gets mad." Her statement left Jude no room to argue, and when Callie mentioned this 'Marc' person, he seemed like he now _wanted_ to leave.

Before the two could completely leave the building, Jude stopped and turned to us. He smiled and waved goodbye. Lena and I waved back, but then Callie gave Jude a little tug to get him to keep walking. And then the two were gone.

I turned to Lena who looked just as confused as I was. The two being foster kids was just another piece to this complex puzzle. Whoever this Marc person was, Jude was obviously scared of him. My mind was going a mile minute as I tried to put the pieces together. Once I did, I couldn't bring myself to say it out loud.

Lena could, "Do you think they're getting abused?" She asked the question hesitantly. She didn't want to consider it anymore than I did. We may not know the siblings personally, but any type of abuse was upsetting, especially when it involved kids.

"I don't know Love. The bruises on Callie are alarming and Jude was uncomfortable about Marc. We know the system. Not all of the houses are fit to care for children. Sadly, I would say abuse is a strong possibility."

"Is there any way we can help them? They seem like such great kids Stef. You're a cop, there must be something."

"I could file a complaint, but I don't even know their last names."

"What if we asked a coworker? One of these people has to know Callie's last name, right?" I could tell Lena was excited by the opportunity to find a way to help those kids.

"Yes we can definitely try that." I nodded and smiled at her. I wanted to help Callie and Jude just as much as she did. I had to make a promise to myself, to Lena, to the kids, "And once we get some more information about Callie and Jude, I will do everything I can to make sure these kids don't slip through the cracks."

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! Please review with your thoughts, they really help me when I'm writing!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Stef POV**

Jacob. We finally had a last name. We finally had a piece of information that could help me learn more about Callie and Jude.

The boss at The Burger Stand, Ryan, had informed us that the Jacob siblings were in fact foster children. He expressed his concern for Callie, and how she always seemed to have new bruises on her body. He told me that Jude never seemed injured, but he would rarely speak to anyone but his sister. Ryan tried to be as helpful as possible, but he explained that whenever he questioned their well-being, Callie would shut down. She wouldn't give him straight answers, which was not very surprising news to me.

Supposedly, Callie was close with another girl that worked there named Daphne. She was on break, so Lena and I waited patiently for her to return. We sat in silence for about ten minutes until a teenage girl in her work uniform entered. Lena and I exchanged a look before we both got up and made our way over to the girl.

"Um, excuse me, miss. Does your name happen to be Daphne?" I went right to the point. It was blunt, and it probably sounded strange to the girl, but I was desperate to get any helpful information about Callie and Jude.

"Who's asking?" I wasn't really surprised by the question so I answered quickly.

"My name's Stef and this is Lena. I work for the San Diego Police Department. However, we have some questions for you regarding Callie and Jude Jacob, as a friend." I added the last part to explain that no one was in trouble, but I wanted to include my job to express my authority. I could tell my position as a cop freaked her out a little bit, and I grew worried that I had answered wrong.

"Yeah I'm Daphne. How do you know Callie and Jude?" I was surprised by her answer. I honestly hadn't known if she would even acknowledge me at all.

"We met them a week ago here. We're worried about them. Ryan explained that you are close to Callie, so we figured you could give us a better insight into their home life." When Lena saw the skeptical look on Daphne's face she added to my statement.

"I promise you, we are only trying to help them. If you know anything, I sincerely hope that you would tell us. As Callie's friend, you should want to help them too. Please." I had no doubt that Lena was using her big brown eyes to plead with this, but I didn't want to turn my attention away from the girl.

"Alright, uh, well all I know is what Callie will tell me. They've been in the foster system for like six years and I think they're in their seventh home. Uh, from what I can tell, they've been through a lot and Callie was practically forced to take care of Jude like a son. I don't know what else you want to know." I felt terrible for the Jacobs siblings, but I knew I had to press forward and learn more about their current home.

"You're doing great, okay? But has Callie ever mentioned anything about her foster home right now?"

"She doesn't talk about it much. She's not much of a talker in general. All I can say is that she comes in with bruises all the time. I don't think I've ever seen one on Jude, but Callie's always in pain. Whenever, I ask her about it, she shuts me out and says she's fine. I used to be in the system and I know it sucks, so I don't press to hard." Daphne paused for a moment. "Look why do you guys care so much? I mean you don't even really know them at all. There's not much you can do anyway."

"Lena and I care because we don't like children getting hurt. And if there is anyway for us to help kids that are being abused, we're going to do so. We are going to do everything we can to help Callie and Jude. I _am_ a cop, remember?" Daphne laughed sarcastically.

"Yeah I wouldn't tell Callie that if you want her to talk to you. She's not a fan of cops. Sorry, but your job is not a popular one for foster kids."

"Well thanks for the tip and for your help today. We're gonna try to help your friend." I smiled at the girl and she smiled back. She nodded in thanks, but then explained that she had to get back to work.

I turned to Lena and saw the sad look in her eyes. "Love, what's wrong?"

"Those kids, Callie and Jude. I just don't have a good feeling about all of this. I wish I could just fix everything and make it all better." I could tell she was upset, hell, I was too. If Callie and Jude were in an unfit foster home, it would break my heart— wait. No. What am I doing? I am putting my heart into this and I can't. I don't have any connection to these kids… But maybe I do. I could tell there was something special about the two. I guess Lena could see me lost in thought because she questioned me.

"Stef? Stef are you alright?" I looked up at her and shook my head. I had to be honest with her.

"I don't know, Love. I feel like I care about this way more than I should."

"Stef, I know what you mean. I haven't been able to get them out of my head all week. Why do you think I came here with you?" She said the last part with a smile and I couldn't help myself. I immediately hugged her.

"We have to help them. I won't be able to rest until I at least know they're safe." I felt her nod against me in agreement, and I felt better. We were going to do this together.

* * *

Two days later, I sat at my desk. It was Monday morning and I could finally look into the Jacob siblings. I tried looking online, but I couldn't find anything that was of any help. I hoped the police database would have better luck.

With the little information I had, I figured Callie's name was more likely to come up. She seemed to protect Jude, so if they were in an abusive environment, she might have medical records. I quickly logged into my computer and got to work.

 _Callie Jacob_

Typing her name made this situation so real. I wasn't sure what I was looking for. Of course I wanted a lot of information, but that would mean that she would have to have gone though whatever terrible things I find. Not being able to wait any longer, I hit the search button.

* * *

 **Lena POV**

I was almost positive that everyone I talked to could tell something was on mind. At work, all I could do was think about Callie and Jude. Did they even go to school? What if the home was so bad, that they weren't even allowed to go to school? Questions like these bounced around my head nonstop. Now sitting at home, waiting for Stef to come back from work, I was trying to distract myself.

I was making dinner for everyone when I heard the door open. I turned towards it to see Stef, who looked a little off. I wanted to make sure that she was okay but I also wanted to know if she learned anything about the Jacobs. I decided to address both.

"Stef! Are you okay? What happened? Did you find anything?" I wasn't normally this worked up, but something about those kids made me so worried.

"Yes Lena I'm fine. I did find a quite a few details, but I think we should discuss it later when we don't run the risk of any of our kids listening. It's a lot to take in, and I doubt that its even half of their story." I realized she looked off because of what she'd learned. It was probably nothing good if it bothered Stef. I nodded my head in agreement, knowing she was right. I also knew that she could use a hug, so I embraced her tightly.

"We'll talk about it when they all go to sleep. Now go change and get ready because dinner will be ready in thirty minutes." I watched her nod and retreat up the stairs. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

As promised, dinner was served a half an hour later. I sat with my family as we discussed our days and plans for tomorrow. I wasn't completely paying attention until The Burger Stand was brought up. I looked up from my food with an interested look.

"What was that? I looked around at my kids waiting for a response.

"I was just wondering if I could go to The Burger Stand tomorrow after school with a couple friends." Brandon spoke uncertainly, probably wondering if he had said something wrong. I heard Jesus laugh.

"Ha. Please. You just wanna go back there to see the girl that works there." He said it teasingly and Brandon immediately denied it.

"No! I didn't even suggest the place, Aiden did." I looked at Stef and and she looked back. We were both thinking the same thing, but she spoke first.

"Oh. What girl, B?" The question sounded like one any mother would ask, but Lena knew Stef was much more interested than she let on. When Brandon failed to answer right away, Jesus did it for him.

"It was the one that was talking to you. The brunette girl. Brandon couldn't stop staring at her."

"Hey that's so not true!"

"Yeah it is. You weren't even the least bit subtle." Mariana decided to give her input. Brandon seemed to be annoyed so he ignored them and went back to the original question.

"So can I go or not?" I looked at Stef and she nodded at me.

"Sure Brandon. But you have to tell us about this girl after you get home." I tried to sound like I was kidding, but I was definitely going to ask him about it.

"Yeah okay. Even though I don't even like her, nor do I even know her name." I could tell he was done being teased, so we all dropped the conversation.

* * *

I laid awake in bed. I knew Stef wasn't asleep either. We were both still thinking about our conversation about Callie and Jude.

 _"_ _So what did you find out?" I asked the question as soon as we were both in our bedroom._

 _"_ _Well Daphne was correct about how long they've been foster kids. Their mother died in a car accident and their father was the one driving, while he was drunk, so he was arrested. From a few medical records, I could tell they've endured a lot of abuse, especially Callie."_

 _"_ _So can we report it? Maybe we can get them removed from that house!" I was starting to get excited, we finally had something._

 _"_ _No Lena. This abuse was in other homes. There haven't been any hospital visits since they entered their current foster home. They've only been there for about two weeks."_

 _"_ _So we just have to wait until one of them is hurt so seriously that they have to go to the hospital?" I was starting to get angry. "That doesn't seem right Stef. You saw Callie's face! There's obviously something going on!"_

 _"_ _Love, there's no way to prove that it was their foster father that caused that. I know, it upsets me too. But that's the system, we both know it has it's flaws."_

 _"_ _Obviously." I didn't mean to snap at Stef, but I just couldn't understand. I wanted to do something to help them._

 _"_ _Maybe I can find an address. I could swing by the house and check it out for myself." I knew Stef was trying to help, and I couldn't be mad at her for that._

 _"_ _Yeah that would be good. And I'm sorry I snapped. I'm just worked up about this whole thing."_

 _"_ _Beware the wrath of Mama Tiger." She said it as a joke, but we both tensed. She immediately apologized, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I wasn't even thinking, it just slipped."_

That was how the conversation ended. We got ready for bed and didn't say another word. I haven't been able to get that statement out of my head as I was laying in bed an hour later. Mama Tiger meant I was protective of my kids. My kids. I cared for Callie and Jude as if they were my kids, and Stef must too if she let it slip. And as Mamma Tiger, I vowed right there that i would help them.

* * *

 **Brandon and Callie will meet in the next chapter. I haven't decided on what type of relationship they will have yet, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks to everyone that gave their opinion on the Brandon and Callie relationship! I took every review into consideration while writing this chapter.**

* * *

 **Brandon POV**

I wasn't sure if I was more excited or nervous to see this girl at The Burger Stand. Aiden, Jonathan, and Isaac wouldn't stop teasing me about it since I told them about her. They thought it was ridiculous that I was interested in a girl who's name remained unknown to me. I decided to ignore them though. They wouldn't understand until they actually saw her.

When we arrived, Jonathan gave me a shove and told me to go first. He was just hoping I made a fool of myself in front of the girl. I had to keep telling them that I didn't even know if she was working today. We walked in, and I saw her taking some lady's order. Nervousness rose in my chest, so I immediately turned around with the intent of leaving. I was stopped by Aiden, who pushed me back inside.

"No can do Brandon. You gotta talk to this chick so then maybe you'll finally shut up about her." I sighed and made my way over to the counter with an annoyed "fine."

The brunette girl looked up at me with a small smile. "Hey. Welcome to The Burger Stand. What can I get you today?" I noticed a large bruise on her left cheek that I hadn't seen the other day. I was about to stutter out my order when I was interrupted by Isaac, who stood behind me.

"Callie?" The girl looked over my shoulder to see who called her name. How the hell did Isaac know her? I turned around to face him as well.

"You know her?" My question was directed at Isaac, but the girl answered instead.

"Isaac? What are you doing here?" An even bigger smile appeared on her face, and I was a little disappointed. Why hadn't she smiled at me like that?

"I was stopping by for some burgers with the guys. I didn't know you worked here. How've you been, Cal?"

"I've been alright. How about I take your orders and then we can catch up for a little bit? Jude's sitting right over there. I bet he'd love to see you." Isaac nodded, gave his order, and headed over towards a younger looking boy. I recognized him as the one Lena approached first this past Saturday. I could see the kid jump up and give Isaac a hug. I was pretty confused to say the least. Aiden, Jonathan, and I all ordered and walked over to join Isaac.

"Hey Brandon, listen. I'm sorry to ruin your big chance or whatever, but I wanna talk to them alone alright? I haven't seen them in quite a while and it might be better if I just talked to them alone." I was kind of upset, but I tried not to let it show.

"No problem man." I grabbed my food and found another table not too far away where I could watch what was going on. Callie walked quickly over to Isaac and the two shared a hug. I felt a pang of jealousy even though I didn't really have any reason to. Callie and Isaac continued the embrace until Jude spoke up.

"How do you know the boy with brown hair?" I figured he was talking about me.

"Who, Brandon? We go to school together. Why?"

"He was here with a couple people that talked to us last week. I was just curious."

"What do you mean Jude?" I was hurt that Callie didn't seem to recognize me at all. Even if it was just because she talked to my moms.

"I think he's one of Stef and Lena's kids." When she only responded with a small "oh" I lost interest in the conversation. She didn't remember me, so I figured it was pointless. I decided to return my attention to Aiden and Jonathan for the remainder of our meal together.

* * *

 **Callie POV**

I could not believe Isaac was here. I hadn't seen him in almost a year, way too long in my opinion. After Jude had mentioned Brandon, an awkward silence had taken over. It didn't last long though, as Isaac never was one to beat around the bush.

"Please tell me those bruises aren't from a foster parent." I looked down at my hands in embarrassment.

"I can't do that. I don't want to lie to you." I said it softly, so no one around us could hear. I looked back up to meet his eyes. They were filled with sorrow and pity. I felt like I had to explain it to him. "They're not as bad as they look though. The house isn't that bad." I could tell he didn't believe me.

"Callie, I can help you. I—" I didn't let him finish the thought.

"No! Isaac you can't get involved. That could mess up your situation, and from the looks of it, you seem to be in a pretty good home."

"Cal, I really can help. I got adopted." The news shocked me. We had been in the same foster home a little while ago, and neither one of us ever thought adoption was ever possible. I was so happy for him. He deserved a good family.

"Oh my god, Isaac! That's amazing! Congratulations!" I immediately hugged him and he hugged me back.

"Thanks Cal. I found my happy ending, let me help you find yours. Please." He really was a great guy. He tried to help Jude and I in our shared foster home, and now, he wanted to help us again.

"That's really sweet of you, to want to help, but you of all people should understand how this works. Jude and I will just get moved again and the house could be even worse. I would move away, and then we'd lose touch again. I don't want that. We just reunited."

"Please Callie. If you won't talk to me. Get someone else to help you. You have to let someone in." I didn't know how to respond. So Jude did for me.

"We can talk to Stef and Lena! They seem really nice!"

"See Callie, Jude gets understands. This is really important, okay? They're really great people. I've been over a few times and they even understand the system. They adopted two kids out of it. Come on. What do you have to lose? We can go talk to Brandon about it." He reached his hand out towards me. I hesitated, but I finally grabbed it so he could help me up. We walked over so Isaac could go through the introductions.

"Guys this is Callie and her little brother Jude. Callie and Jude, this is Aiden, Jonathan, and Brandon." I smiled at the three boys as I put my arm around Jude's shoulders protectively, just in case. The blonde one, Jonathan, spoke up first.

"Well it's nice to put a face to the girl Brandon hasn't shut about." What? I gave him a confused look. Why would Brandon talk about me? Oh my god, did Stef and Lena tell their kids something awful about me. I think the guy sensed my confusion because he kept going. "I mean all we've heard about is how pretty—" He stopped when Brandon hit his arm. "Ow man! I was just kidding. Lighten up a little." Isaac decided to step in.

"Alright guys. Can you please behave for like ten minutes?" I smiled as I realized that Isaac hadn't changed a bit. The guys all mumbled some apologies that held no sincerity at all.

"So how do you guys know each other?" Brandon was the first to ask a serious question.

"We were in the same foster home about a year ago."

"Oh. Uh, my younger brother and sister used to be in the system. My moms adopted them a few years ago." I didn't really know what to say so I just nodded back.

We stood in almost complete silence after that. No one knew what to say. Eventually, Aiden spoke up and said that they should probably start heading home. Brandon and Jonathan quickly agreed, probably just to get out of this awkward situation.

"I'm just gonna stay here for a little while longer, alright? I'll see you guys at school tomorrow." I wanted to tell Isaac that he didn't have to stay, but I knew arguing with him would be pointless. The guys nodded their heads and said good bye. They threw their trash away and made their way out of the restaurant. I instantly turned to Isaac.

"You don't have to stay. You should go hangout with your friends." I smiled to reassure him that I was fine.

"I'm not going anywhere until you promise me that you'll talk to someone. Stef and Lena are good people. They'll make sure you go to a safe place. They did it for me after I became friends with Brandon. They recognized that I was being abused and they got me out. Now I'm in a permanent, safe home." I looked down at Jude. He looked at me hopefully, pleading for me to listen to Isaac. There was no way I could say no to the both of them.

"You know it takes me a while to trust people. So I can't guarantee anything, but I will promise to try to let them help. I'm pretty sure they're already trying to, anyways." Isaac smiled at me.

"That's all I ask. I just want you to be happy and safe."

"I know. And I appreciate that more than you could ever imagine." I couldn't contain my happiness anymore. I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly. When I felt him place his arms around my waist, I smiled. "Thank you for always being there."

"Of course Callie. I've always got your back." When we parted, he looked down at Jude. "Don't worry Little Man, I've got your back too." He ruffled his hair playfully.

"I know. Thanks Isaac."

"You know? If you have a hard time talking to Stef and Lena, you can call me and I'll help you out. Or if anything happens, good or bad, I really hope that you'll call me." He wrote his cell number on a napkin and handed it to me.

"I will. I don't wanna end up losing touch again." He smiled sadly as I put the folded napkin in my pocket.

"If I have any say in it, that will never happen again." He hugged me one last time, and then did so to Jude.

"I have to head home, but I want you to call me. Okay? Whenever you get the chance."

"I promise." I didn't break a promise, and he knew that. Isaac smiled, and then he was gone. I looked down at Jude. "That was a nice surprise, huh?"

"Yeah I missed him. I could tell he missed you too." He spoke teasingly.

"Oh really? And how could you tell?"

"It's pretty obvious, Cal. He likes you." I laughed, and Jude joined me.

"Okay, Bud. Because I have plenty of time for a boyfriend." Jude paused, and then he suddenly became serious.

"You promised that you'd try. You can't break your promise."

"I know. I don't plan on it." I didn't either. I knew Marc was not a fit foster father, and that we were unsafe in his care. I trusted Isaac, so if he trusted Stef and Lena, then I did too.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think! I hope my way of moving Brandon into the friend zone was okay!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Callie POV**

It was around 3:30 when Jude and I arrived back home from school on Thursday afternoon. I couldn't work on Thursdays because it's the only day Marc is home by 4:30. Walking home right after school gave Jude and I about an hour to do all of the chores that were assigned. This hour consisted of relaxed cleaning, laundry, and cooking. It was understood that we _had_ to finish by 4:30 because the first Thursday we were here, all of the chores weren't done when Marc got home, and that relaxed night became a painful one.

By 3:45, it looked like Jude and I were almost half way done, so I didn't feel worried about meeting the deadline. However, when I heard tires screech, my blood went cold. I ran to the window, praying that it wasn't Marc getting home early. Sadly, it was, and he did not look very happy. He was angry, and he hadn't even seen the unfinished chores yet. His old, beat up car swerved into the driveway quickly. I watched as he shut the car off, and then brought his fists down onto the steering wheel. This expression of frustration made me even more nervous, so nervous that I had failed to notice that Jude was watching him too.

"Callie, why do you think he's mad?" His voice sounded scared.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it can't be any good. If he comes in yelling, you have to run upstairs and lock the door until I tell you to open it, okay?" I was still watching Marc out in his car, but when Jude didn't respond, I looked down at him. "Please Jude. If he's already angry, he's gonna be furious when he sees the unfinished work around here. When Marc's angry, he gets physical, and I don't wanna see you get hurt." I could see the tears in his eyes, showing me he didn't want to leave me alone, but finally, he nodded. Jude agreed just in time too.

When I had made sure Jude would leave, I had taken my eyes off of Marc. Now, I realized my mistake as I heard keys rattling, trying to unlock the door. I was completely unprepared for it if he came in guns blazing. He got the door open and entered, so I waited to see what his next move was. At first he didn't even acknowledge us, he just cursed to himself about the lock. But then, he looked up and looked right at me.

"Why aren't you at work?" I ignored his question.

"Why aren't _you_ at work?" He had to have left at least 45 minutes earlier than usual.

"My stupid ass boss fired me." Uh-oh. A laid off foster father is _never_ a good situation. At first, they're extremely angry about , they start to buy less food, claiming they didn't have the money to waste on feeding two extra mouths. Once I realized that Marc had an actual reason to mad, I whispered to Jude to go upstairs. He quickly left.

"I'm sorry about your job. I get my paycheck tomorrow, so I can give you some money then, okay?" I was trying to remind him that I could benefit him, that not everything here was bad. He didn't seem to care though.

"How the hell do you expect me to live off of the cheap salary that you make right now? You better start working a lot more hours. Quit school or something."

"I can't just drop out of school."

"Why the hell not?" Now he was even more angry.

"It would look weird. You don't want people coming over and questioning you, do you?" He moved towards me and stuck his finger in my face.

"Is that a threat?"

"N-no. I'm just warning you. Somebody might say something about me quitting, and they would probably talk to you about it." I hated myself for sounding so scared.

"Look _Sweetheart_ , I've had a hard day at work today. I don't need you making my night any worse." I definitely thought he was going to hit me, but he walked right past me and went into the kitchen.

Relief flooded over me, but it didn't last very long when I remembered the unfinished dishes.

"What the hell?! You couldn't even do your simple chores right? Is there something wrong with you?" I heard his heavy footsteps come closer to me, so I turned around quickly. I was faced with a furious Marc, who held one of the dirty dishes. "Does this look clean to you?!" I shook my head in response. "Words kid! Use your words when I'm talking to you!"

"N-no. I'm sorry. I didn't get to finish. It's not clean."

"Damn straight it's not. It's practically ruined!" I didn't really know what he meant, it wasn't even that dirty. The confusion only remained for a moment, until Marc hurled the plate at me. I was too shocked to move very far, so it made contact with me left check. It shattered upon impact, and I cried out when it hit my still healing face. "Look at it! You ruined it!"

He moved closer to me and grabbed the hand that I had pressed against my cheek. His grip around my right forearm was extremely strong. I was afraid he would snap the bone.

"You listen, and you listen good. This mess better be cleaned up and the dishes better be finished by 4:30. If they're not, you're gonna hurt a lot more than you do right now." With the threat, he let go of my arm. I immediately pulled it close to me and cradled it. I could already see it turn a light shade of red. It would turn into just another bruise on my battered body. However, I knew I couldn't think about my injuries right now. I had to clean up, quickly. I had a little less than thirty minutes.

* * *

I finished the work by 4:20. Marc was in the living room, drinking his feelings away. He may have been mad about the loss of his job, but he was also pretty sad. He was just trying to mask the sorrow with anger. I was about to go upstairs to check on Jude, but I stopped when someone knocked on the door. I wanted to run and answer the door and show them what Marc had done to me, but he got up from in front of the TV first.

"Get the hell upstairs." He could probably tell what I was thinking.

Not wanting to upset him even more, I followed his demand. However, I didn't go to join Jude right away, I hid at the top and listened.

"Good evening. I'm Mike Foster with the SDPD. We got a call from a neighbor about a lot of yelling and a loud crash. We just wanted to check it out."

"Aw, I'm sorry officer. I had a rough day at work and I may have drank a little too much. I've been watching the game and my team sucks today. My bottle probably thought I was overreacting when I chucked it at the wall." He sounded like an idiot. He must have been digging his grave right now.

"Hey no worries sir." That was a new voice. "I can sometimes get too into a game too. Just try to keep it down alright?" What?! Are you kidding? This cop bought that? I couldn't believe he was that stupid. This is why I hate men, they're oblivious. I heard the three men say goodbye, and then my only hope for the night was gone.

Frustrated, I headed to my room. I knocked and told Jude to let me in. He did immediately, and his eyes were scared. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Who was at the door?"

"I'm fine. It was two cops asking about some yelling. Don't get your hopes up though, they weren't very helpful." I didn't want him to think that they would save us from this house. Of course, I wanted him to have faith, but I didn't want him to get hurt once he was let down.

"I don't care about them. I'm just glad you're okay. Well except for your cheek, what happened?" I reached my hand up to touch it. I winced at the contact and brought my hand down. There was blood.

"Nothing I can't handle. I'll go take care of it in the bathroom." I walked down the hallway and found myself in a familiar position. Staring at a broken version of myself. I took a piece of glass out of the cut and dabbed it with alcohol. The liquid burned, but I'd rather go through that than an infection or something. I put a bandaid on it incase it continued to bleed and then washed my hands. I was pretty much ready for bed. Abuse really just took the energy out of me.

* * *

 **Stef POV**

I walked into work on Friday with a smile on my face. It was the last day before my weekend off. I was also planning on finding out more about Callie and Jude.

Brandon wasn't very much help with them. He said he didn't really talk to Callie at The Burger Stand. The one thing he did say, was that she knew his friend Isaac. They had been in a foster home together before Lena and I helped him get adopted. I hoped that we could help the Jacob siblings, like we did for him.

I sat at my desk and was greeted by Mike. "So, Stef, I have a great story for you."

"Oh really?"

"Oh yeah. You wanna hear?" I nodded at him, so he continued. "So you remember that house that you were curious about? Over on Hillside Drive?" That was Callie and Jude's foster home.

"Yes, I remember. Why?" I hoped nothing terrible happened there.

"Hernandez and I were sent there about some yelling and a loud crash. I don't know why you're so interested, but the guy living there just looks a sad drunk. Didn't look like anybody lived with him." This caught my attention.

"There was no one there? Don't you think that's odd if there was yelling?"

"Stef, it was a drunk guy watching a sports game. No harm there. We just warned him to keep it down." This made me a little angry.

"So that was it? You just left after that?" I couldn't believe him. For all I know that drunk man was yelling at Callie or Jude. They could'e been in there, hurt and scared.

"Yeah I mean everything looked fine, Stef. I couldn't just walk in the guys house."

"Did you even question his story? I mean—"

"Alright Stef, what is your deal? I mean you probably would've done the same thing. The guy was so drunk, I didn't think he would be able to stand for much longer. Why do you care so much anyway? Do you know the guy?"

"I don't care about the guy, Mike. I care about the two kids that live with him."

"I didn't see any kids there."

"Well yeah. If he's abusing them like I think he is, the guy probably doesn't want them around while there's people at the door." I finally saw the reality of my words get through to Mike.

"Oh my god. I had no idea. Why don't you tell me stuff like this? If I knew there were kids in there, I would've done something. That house did not look kid friendly. How old are the kids?"

"The girl, Callie, is sixteen. Her little brother, Jude, is twelve."

"Wait how do you know them?"

"Lena and I met them at that fast food restaurant, The Burger Stand, last week. The bruises on Callie's face kinda caught my attention."

"So then you think there was an altercation last night? The yelling and the loud crash?"

"I don't want to think like that, but yes. I have my suspicions."

"Well, I'm kinda hungry. Wanna go get a burger?" At first I looked at him like he was insane, but then I realized, he was going to help me get to the bottom of this.

"Oh yeah a burger sounds great right now." I just hoped that Callie and Jude were both there and okay.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Warning: This chapter contains some violence.**

* * *

 **Stef POV**

When Mike and I arrived at The Burger Stand, we began searching for Callie and her brother. There was no sign of either of the two being there, so the bad feeling in the pit of my stomach grew. What if one of them was too hurt to be able to come here? I turned to Mike.

"They're not here. We should go to the house."

"Why don't we ask someone who works here first? Callie might not work on Fridays." Oh, right. I didn't even think of that.

I made my way over to the counter and saw a familiar young man. I looked at his name tag to see 'Ryan' printed in bold, black letters. I think he's the one that said Callie could leave early last week.

"Hello officers. What I can I get you today?"

"Actually we're looking for someone who works here. Is Callie Jacob working today?"

"Callie's not working until later. She usually gets here around 4:00 because she walks here from school." I can't believe I didn't think of school. I was so worried about the well-being of these kids that my common sense went right out the window. The man seemed worried when I didn't respond. "Is she in some kind of trouble? She seems like a really good kid."

"No, no. She's not in any trouble. My partner and I are here as friends, not officers." The man seemed relieved.

"Okay. I can have her call you when she gets here if you want."

"That's alright. We'll just swing by later." The man nodded, so Mike and I made our way out. I realized how bad of an idea this was. It was only 12:00 in the afternoon. Of course she was in school, she's sixteen. Mike suddenly spoke up, tearing me out of my thoughts.

"Wanna just head back to the station?" All I could do was nod. I wouldn't have been able to hide my disappointment if I spoke.

* * *

By 3:45, I couldn't sit still. I wanted to drive right over to The Burger Stand immediately, but I knew Callie and Jude still might not be there. These next fifteen minutes would be hell.

As soon as the clock read 4:00, I jumped up, ready to go. I told Mike to get ready so we could leave quickly. I was pretty anxious to get there, but my mood instantly worsened when I heard my captain call my name.

"Stef, Mike, you've been at your desks all day. A call just came in about a robbery. How about you two head over there and check it out?" I had to keep myself from sighing. It was finally time to go see Callie and Jude, and _now_ we got a call.

"Stef and I would be happy to, Captain. Where are we heading?"

"Have you heard of The Burger Stand? It's downtown. They said the guy already fled the scene with some cash." I was pretty sure my heart dropped into my stomach. I hoped that Callie and Jude weren't there yet.

"Yeah I know it. We'll go right now. Come on Mike!" The desperation in my voice was clear, so he hurried out after me.

We made it there fairly quickly, but it still felt like it took too long. When I walked inside, I scanned the scene for either of the Jacob siblings. The only familiar face I saw was Ryan, who was talking to another officer. Mike and I headed over to find out what had happened.

"…but you're gonna have to ask my employees more about it. I didn't really see the guy until he was leaving." I jumped into the conversation after that.

"I don't see any one else working here accept you." Hernandez answered me.

"Yeah. She's getting checked out by the paramedic outside. I'm not really sure why though, I haven't spoken to her. I think Gomez is talking to her right now." My heart started to beat faster. It was a she. I really hoped it wasn't Callie. I realized I wouldn't find out from here, so I made my way outside. The ambulance's lights were still flashing, so it was easy to find. I spotted Gomez standing off to the side, talking to one of the paramedics.

"Stef! Hey get over here. Maybe this girl will talk to you, she isn't being very helpful with me." I could tell from his voice that he was slightly frustrated. As I got closer I heard another voice.

"Look, I already told you. I didn't get a great look at the guy. I don't know what else you want to know." I knew that voice, and when I looked to its source, I realized I knew the person it belonged to. From the look on her face, she recognized me too, as did the little boy sitting next to her. Jude looked happier to see me than Callie did.

"Stef!"

"Hey Bud." I gave him a smile. Before I could say anything else, Callie spoke up.

"You're a _cop?_ " She spit out the question with a venomous tone. She looked like she was going to continue, but she stopped with a wince. That was when I realized the paramedic that was working on her. The woman that was cleaning her head wound gave her apology.

"What happened to your head?"

"I don't know. Isn't it your job to figure that out?" Callie was never warm towards Lena or myself, but she never acted like this. Then I remembered what her friend told me, she didn't like cops.

"Look Callie, I'm just trying to help you out."

"What, by stalking me?" Is that why you keep talking to Jude and I? Because you're a cop? Are you trying to find some dirt on us or something?"

"Callie! You promised." I didn't understand what Jude meant, but from the look on Callie's face, I knew she did. She sighed and shook her head. Then, she immediately squeezed her eyes shut and held her head.

"You should really go to the hospital." Callie looked up at the woman who was trying to stitch her head.

"I already said I wasn't going to any hospitals. I'm fine." I decided to step in.

"Sweets, you could have a concussion with a nasty gash like that." She glared at me.

"Don't call me that. You—" Jude cut her off.

"Callie! You even promised to Isaac."

"Jude, he left out a very important detail."

"Callie it can only help us even more." I sensed this conversation wasn't just about today. When the girl still hesitated, I had to add some incentive.

"Well, Callie, if you don't want to give a statement, I can just take Jude's. Then, I'll be out of your hair." Using Jude was a low blow, but I had to get her to talk.

"No. I'll answer your stupid questions." She sounded defeated.

"Okay, let's start with what happened to your head."

"I was working the counter, and the guy hit me when I wouldn't hand him the money."

"You got that cut from a punch?" That definitely didn't make sense.

"No the guy hit me with his gun."

"He had a gun?" Now this was an armed robbery.

"Yeah. But I don't even know if it was real."

"Okay. How much money did he take?"

"I don't know. Probably around 150 I think."

"Great. Uh, I think that's everything. Thanks for your help." I was about to walk away when Jude called out.

"Wait! Stef, we have to talk to you." I turned to look at the two. Callie was glaring at him, but he wouldn't look at her. When he did, he seemed to lose his confidence. I noticed the change in mood, so I decided to ask a question to get the conversation started.

"It's okay. What did you want to talk to me about?" I was trying to give Jude his confidence back. Callie didn't seem like the type to open up, so Jude was my only hope.

"Do you remember Isaac? I think he's friends with uh, Brandon." I looked at Jude with a warm smile.

"Yes, I remember him. He's a great kid."

"Was his foster home really bad before you got him removed?" I was surprised when the words came out of Callie's mouth. I didn't think she was going to speak to me anymore today.

"The foster parents were definitely not fit to care for him." Callie snapped at my answer.

"Hardly any of them are." That didn't seem like a very fair generalization.

"I know plenty of good foster parents. A few of my friends try to help out as many kids as they can." She seemed angered by my statement.

"Yeah, they're all just great until you actually have to live with them."

"Callie, if your foster home isn't a good one, I can help you and Jude."

"The last time someone tried to 'help' us, we were put in an even worse home. Thanks, but you should just stay out of it." She paused to get out of the ambulance. "Do I need to give any more statements, or am I done?" I didn't want to let her leave, her answers were almost starting to give me insight about her home life.

"I believe that was all. Do you have a number I can reach you at? In case we have any more questions?"

"All I have is a house phone. Does that work?" I nodded in response, so she wrote the number on a piece of paper. When I reached in my pocket to put it away, I felt the corner of a business card, my card. I immediately took it out and stretched my arm towards them.

"Here, I have your number, you should have mine." Callie looked at it as if it might explode right in her face, but she grabbed it anyway before walking away. The two having my number made me feel so much better. They probably wouldn't use it, but I hoped that if they really needed help, they would call.

* * *

 **Callie POV**

My head was killing me. As Jude and I approached our foster home, I realized I wouldn't even be able to rest. The reality hit me like a slap to the face. With no job, Marc would be home all of the time. He didn't have anywhere to be, so he could drink whenever he wanted to. I looked at Jude, and it seemed like he was realizing the same thing.

"We'll just go right upstairs and lock our door. Okay?"

"We could just call Stef. She wants to help us. Why aren't you letting her?"

"Look, she doesn't really care. No one ever does. And I only gave you her card to use in a real emergency. Just in case. This is not an emergency, so don't use it." With that, I opened the door and headed inside.

"Why the hell are you home? You that eager to give me your check?" My face blanched at his words. With everything that was going on at work, I totally forgot to grab my check. I was screwed, I couldn't fake a pay check to give him. "Well? Where is it?"

"I don't have it."

"You don't have it? Your job is the only reason you two are still even here!" He was already making his way towards me, so I grabbed Jude and put him behind me. I had to get him upstairs to safety.

"There was a robbery and they didn't have any money to give me. I'm so—" He grabbed my shirt with his left hand to pull me closer to him.

"Yeah you're _sorry._ You know, you've been apologizing a lot lately. I've been very generous to you, Sweetheart. What did I tell you before? No second chances around here." Before he was even done with his sentence, his fist came flying towards my face. It wouldn't have taken much to bring me down, so with one punch to the jaw, I crumpled to the ground. I brought my hands up to cover my face from any further attacks. My head was singing, but I had to find Jude. I looked up slowly, and the room span. I saw what looked to be Jude, so I said as loud as I could manage to go upstairs. Instead, he headed to the kitchen first. I was so confused that I didn't even see Marc lift his foot up. His action didn't register until I felt him kick my left shoulder over. I laid on my back, completely exposed to him.

Before I could roll away, he brought his boot down onto my chest, holding me down. As he applied more pressure, breathing became a challenge. I tried to squirm and push his foot off of me, but he was too heavy and I was too weak. When my vision started to blur, he lifted his foot for a moment, and I took the chance to gasp for air.

The relief was short lived, and he brought his foot down again. This time it was more like a stomp, as if he was trying to squish a bug. I cried out in pain, ignoring my own rule of showing no weakness. I could see that Marc was saying something, but all I could hear was the blood pounding in my ears.

He removed his foot again. I was expecting to be able to take a nice deep breath again, but even without his weight, breathing was difficult. I was gasping over and over again watching as Marc laughed at me, the sick bastard. The last thing I saw was his fist flying towards my face, and then everything went black.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! Please let me know** **what you think! If you have any suggestions about what you would like to see happen, I would love to hear about it so I can try to incorporate it into the story.**


	11. Chapter 11

**So first off, this story has reached 100 reviews! I wanted to thank everyone who has stuck with this story and** **reviewed! Sorry to one guest that reviewed, but I don't have a tumblr or a twitter :(. As for the guest that asked about my prediction in the finale, I'm not sure what Callie will do, but I sincerely hope she picks a family over a boyfriend. However, the whole sex thing would be both hard and kinda weird to ignore. (Especially because, is it just me, or is it weird to assume that Brandon would have gone into his foster sister's room with a condom in his pocket or something? Just saying.) Anyways, Thanks for reading and here's the next chapter!**

* * *

 **Stef POV**

By the time Mike and I were finished at the scene, our shift was pretty much over. We had to head back to the station to drop off some paperwork, but after that we were free to go home. All I could think about on my drive home was Callie. Why couldn't she just accept my help? She was obviously in pain today after the robbery, but she still refused to open up to me. I couldn't understand, so I hoped Lena would.

I parked my car in the driveway and made my way inside, to the kitchen. I was greeted with the sight of Jesus and Brandon helping Lena prepare for dinner.

"Hey my loves. Where's Mariana?" Lena looked over from the stove.

"Upstairs. She said she had to finish something up."

After my tough day, I just wanted a nice family dinner. I yelled up the stairs, "Come on Mariana! We're all waiting on you!" Lena shot me a disapproving look, but I pretended not to notice. I would have yelled again too, but I heard movement coming from upstairs. Eventually, she joined us at the table, but she was not alone.

"Mariana, you know the rule. No phones at the table." She wasn't even listening, too interested in the conversation with a friend. I got up, out of my seat, and took the phone away from her ear. "Phone off. Or I'll take it." She sighed loudly, "Ugh, fine. Bye Lexi, I gotta go."

"Thank you."

Halfway through our meal, conversation was interrupted by a loud ringing noise. I looked around to see whose phone it was, but when I saw that they were all looking back at me, I realized it was mine. I pulled it out of my pocket to see a number I didn't recognize. I immediately thought of Callie and Jude. When I was about to answer it, Mariana spoke up with an attitude.

"No phones at the table, _Mom_. You know the rule." I had to hold back from rolling my eyes at her. I sighed, knowing I had to abide by rules if I wanted them to follow them too.

"Alright. Decline, see." With that, there was silence again. It only lasted a second, and then my cell was ringing again. I frowned, this had to be important. "Well, this is an exception." I jumped up from the table and headed out back. I answered the call and brought it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Uh, Stef? Is that you?" The young boy on the other line sounded so scared. This wasn't just any boy though, this was Jude. I was so elated that he called, but judging by his tone, it wasn't just to chat.

"Jude, is that you? What's wrong buddy?"

"He won't stop. She's not even moving anymore, and he still won't stop." He was in hysterics at this point.

"Who won't stop? Jude, what's going on? Is Callie there?"

"No. Marc wouldn't stop hitting her. She told me to go upstairs and lock the door. I don't know what he's doing from up here." My heart broke for the young boy.

"Jude, is 'she' Callie?"

"Yeah. He was mad that she didn't have a check for him today." Callie was being hurt, and I was just standing here. I jumped into action.

"Okay Jude. Stay on the phone with me. I'm gonna call for backup, and we're gonna help you and Callie, okay?"

"Stef, he won't stop yelling. I don't even know if she's okay." I knew he was very close to breaking down. By now, I had gotten Lena into the car, away from all of the kids.

"She's gonna be fine Jude. I'm gonna put you on with Lena okay? I'm still right next to her." I felt bad for just pulling Lena away from dinner, but once she found out about the situation, I knew she would understand. I blocked out her conversation with Jude. I had to focus on calling Captain Roberts for reinforcements. She agreed to meet me there as soon as possible.

* * *

When Lena and I reached the house, I was taken back by its appearance. How could this have been an approved foster home? What was even worse, was the sounds coming from inside. I was still on the phone with Roberts, who was telling me to wait. The only reason I didn't rush in right away was because Lena held me back.

The two minutes that it took for the other officers to arrive felt like hours. I told them that all I knew was that there were two kids in the home, and one abusive bastard. We set up quickly, and I was eager to go in and help. Lena stayed back, as I made my way to the front door. Gomez stood next to me, ready to kick the door in. We could both hear yelling, but there was never another voice that argued back. That made me even more nervous.

When Roberts gave the go, Gomez kicked the door with a great amount of force. The old door fell easily. We rushed into the house, and right in front of us, stood the man that had finally stopped yelling. He turned to us with anger written all over his face.

"What the hell are you doing in my house? You're gonna have to pay for that door." The man was so drunk and blinded by rage, that he failed to notice that we were all police officers. I couldn't focus on him though, all of my attention was on the person lying behind him. His body was blocking my view of the person's face, but I could tell it was a girl. From Jude's story, it dawned on me that this unmoving figure was without a doubt, Callie. I tried to see if she was breathing, but with the foster father in the way, and my angle, I couldn't tell.

My attention was taken away from Callie, when I heard Gomez yell from beside me.

"Get down on your knees! Hands behind your head!" The force of his words sobered the man up a little bit. He seemed to finally grasp the situation and suddenly looked scared. He quickly dropped to his knees and put his hands on his head. Gomez cuffed him, while I kept my gun trained on him. A few officers guided him out of the house and to the squad car. With the threat gone, I rushed to Callie's side.

I gasped when I saw her. Her face was covered in bruises and contusions. Her left arm was bent behind her at a sickening angle. I could see that she was breathing, which came as a relief in this awful situation. However, her breathing was labored, and it sounded painful. I shook her shoulder as gently as I could. "Callie. Sweets, can you hear me? I need you to wake up for me." Her eyes squeezed together tighter than they were before as she groaned. I figured at least she could hear me. "Callie, it's Stef. I'm here to help you and Jude." After hearing my words, her eyes shot open. She pushed herself up slowly with a wince before she spoke.

"Jude. Oh my god. I have to make sure he's okay." She tried to stand, but I could tell she got dizzy. She snapped her eyes shut again and grabbed her head.

"Sweets, you can't right now. He's upstairs right? There's no way you'll make it up there."

"He only opens the door for me. It's something we—" She was interrupted when Hernandez came jogging down the stairs.

"Stef, the kid's not opening the door. He's not even acknowledging me." I turned to Callie, who gave me an 'I told you so' look. I sighed. He wasn't going to come out for anyone but his sister, the one person who could not possibly make it to him.

"He might still be on the phone with Lena, would he come out if you told him to over the phone." Callie thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. She instantly regretted it as she reached for her head yet again. "And then once we get him down here, you're going to the hospital." I was expecting her to put up a fight, but she just said 'okay.' She must really be in a lot of pain.

The paramedics finally made their appearance at the scene. I guess since I called Roberts, and not 911, they got a later notice. The two women, one with brown hair and one with blonde, made their way into the room when they saw Callie. The blonde spoke up first.

"What happened here? Are you having some trouble breathing?"

"Yeah. He kinda stepped on me." Her words came out slowly, and when she was finished, her breathing sounded even worse than before. Callie then turned to me, "Can I talk to Jude?" Her anxiousness was radiating off of her.

"Yes. Someone is getting Lena right now." As soon as I finished, Lena entered the house. She looked at Callie and gasped. She looked like she was going to burst into tears at the sight of this hurt child.

"Here, Callie. He's not talking to me anymore." Her voice cracked at the end of her statement.

"Jude?" She paused. "Yeah, I'm fine. Look, you can open the door and come down okay?" She paused again. "They won't let me go up. I promise it's safe. Marc's getting taken away right now." When she stopped again, I realized how much I hated one sided conversations. "Please Jude. I really need to see you. Stef and Lena are here with me. They wanna see you too. Come on, this is me trying to keep my promise." That was a little surprising. Of course we wanted to see Jude, but I never thought Callie would actually say it. She also brought up that promise between them again. It must have been about us. Callie hung up the phone after a moment and looked at me. "He's coming." Just from those two words, I could tell she was exhausted.

The brunette paramedic spoke up then, "Look we really need to get you to the hospital."

"I just have to see Jude first. He needs to know I'm okay." Anyone with eyes could tell Callie was anything but okay. No one said it though.

We all turned to the stairs to see Jude. His eyes were bloodshot from crying, but his tearstained cheeks didn't look like they had a mark on them. Callie had probably taken all of the foster father's hits for him.

When Jude saw Callie, his face instantly lit up. He ran over to her and engulfed her in a tight hug. I saw Callie's pained expression and expected her to flinch away, but she remained where she stood, wrapping an arm protectively around Jude. I realized she couldn't use the other arm when I looked at her shoulder. Her left arm was definitely dislocated. Before I could tell the two that Callie needed to get checked out, she pulled away slightly.

"Are you okay?" She looked him up and down, and he nodded.

"I went right upstairs." Nothing about what he said stuck out to me, but I guess I missed something.

"Right upstairs huh?" When he looked down with guilt, Callie continued. "I saw you go to the kitchen."

Jude sighed, accepting that he was caught. "I went to grab the phone." Smart kid, or so I thought.

"Jude, you could've gotten hurt. I told you to go upstairs so Marc couldn't get to you." I couldn't help from thinking, was this girl his sister or his mother?

"He was hurting you. You said Stef's number was for emergencies and that was one." Callie looked like she wanted to say something else, but she stopped suddenly. I took a step closer, just in case the dizziness worsened and she passed out. She grabbed her head, and bent over. The paramedics immediately tried to grab her arms to hold her up. Callie instantly shrugged off one of the women, but when the blonde grabbed her left arm, she groaned. She tried to push the paramedic away. However, the sudden movement must have caused her discomfort, because she stopped resisting right away. Callie released a pained gasp and held her left shoulder.

"Alright. How about we get you in the ambulance so we can take you to the hospital." I wanted her to rest before she made any of her injuries worse.

"What about Jude?" This girl. She's on the verge of collapsing and she's worried about her little brother.

"I'm going with you." Callie gave the boy a glare.

"No, you're not. You shouldn't have to just sit in the hospital."

"I can't stay here. Bill has to find a new house anyway." Jude had a good point, but Callie still didn't seem happy.

"You're just gonna sit in the waiting room by yourself?" I was going to let them work this out themselves, but Lena had another idea.

"Don't worry. We'll sit with him." I looked at Lena, but her gaze was set on Callie. "We'll make sure he's okay."

"Thank you, but he can't go in the ambulance with me."

"Callie! Why not?" She didn't answer immediately, but I figured she didn't want him to see her in too much pain.

"How about I go with Callie? Lena can drive you over Jude." When I saw his uncertainty, I added, "I'll make sure she's okay." Jude finally nodded in agreement.

Callie put her hand on Jude's shoulder. "Don't worry, everything is going to be fine." She looked up to Lena, sending her a warning to watch him. Lena smiled at Callie to reassure her that he would be fine in her care.

"Alright, Sweets. Let's get going." I put my hand on her uninjured shoulder, but she still flinched away. The movement broke my heart, but I figured it was a reflex from being in this abusive home. Quickly, I removed my hand and led her to sit in the ambulance.

Once the girl sat down and the paramedics closed the door, her whole demeanor changed completely. She let out a long breath and slumped her shoulders. Her eyes filled with tears, but she didn't allow them to fall. Callie had been putting up a brave front for Jude. Now that she wasn't with him anymore, she didn't have to mask her pain. I realized that she was probably more seriously injured than I had originally thought. That meant tonight was going to be quite a long and stressful one.


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you to everyone who is still reading this story! My goal when writing this story is to make it as entertaining and accurate as** **possible. That being said, to the guest who reviewed and shared their story with me, thank you! Even though an apology doesn't change anything, I am truly sorry you had to go through the things you did while in the foster system. I also wanted to congratulate you on your adoption! Thank you for the helpful tips.**

 **Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Callie POV**

As soon as the paramedics shut the doors to the ambulance, I felt a sense of relief. I didn't have to stay strong for anyone at the moment. I could feel my eyes filling with tears, but I looked up to see if the paramedic was watching me. Instead of meeting the dark brown eyes of the brunette woman, I was met with the sad blue eyes of Stef. I figured she had already seen the tears in my eyes, but I forced them back anyway. I completely forgot that she had said she would go with me. I thought she was just saying that to reassure Jude that I would be fine.

I took my eyes away from hers and looked down at my hands. Her pitying glance was making me feel uncomfortable. I didn't know what to do while she was watching me. Should I say something? Shouldn't the paramedic be talking to me? I turned to the woman who stood in the back of the vehicle with Stef and me. I noticed that she was talking, I just hadn't been listening.

I tried to put all of my focus on her, but it was hard. My head felt foggy, as if I was processing everything a lot slower than I normally did. By the time I brought my full attention to her words, all I caught was, "So do you think you can lie down for me?" She looked at me expectantly, and since I felt bad for ignoring everything else that she'd said before, I laid back.

I was kind of nervous. I hadn't heard what she had to check, or what she wanted to do to help me. However, as soon as I was resting on my back, I felt a little better. I didn't have to work to keep myself sitting up anymore, I could relax a little bit more. Just not too much, I didn't even know this woman's name. I looked at her name tag, but all I could see was a black blur on a white rectangle. Trying to read made my headache ten times worse. I felt nauseous, so I brought my hand to my stomach, trying to calm myself down.

"You feeling a little sick?" All I could do was breathe out a small yes. I knew nodding would make my head feel even worse. "How about your breathing, getting any better?" When I rasped out a 'no' quietly, the woman grabbed an oxygen mask. "Here, it'll give you the oxygen that your body needs right now." I didn't really want to use it, the mask would make talking even harder than it was for me now. But she extended her arm to hand it to me, so I figured I didn't really have a choice. Of course, putting on a mask is a lot harder when you can only move one arm. There was no way for me to get my left arm up high enough to reach my face. I tried, but the pain of trying to move it at was almost too much. The paramedic must have noticed, because she took it from my right hand and did it for me.

I was frustrated with myself and embarrassed that I couldn't do something so simple. I didn't want to need anyone's help. However, when I realized the mask really was helping, I forgot about it. I was so exhausted, that I wouldn't have cared anymore anyway. I felt my eyes close, and before I could stop it, I fell asleep.

* * *

 **Stef POV**

As I watched Callie struggle with the oxygen mask, it took everything I had not to help her. I had to respect the fact the she didn't fully trust me, and I also went back to when I touched her back to lead her to the ambulance. She obviously was not a fan of physical contact and she was too damn stubborn to ask for help. So I didn't try to, I could only do what she was comfortable with.

The paramedic, Mary, didn't know about Callie's trust issues, so she went to help. Before I could stop her, she was putting the mask around Callie's face. She didn't even seem bothered by the touch. Callie looked mad, probably because she couldn't do it by herself, but she didn't seem scared. I could hear her breathing improve once the mask was on. I looked up at Mary to see what else she was going to do. She had grabbed a pair of scissors and looked at Callie.

"Britt, probable concussion, should I wake her?" She was talking to the paramedic that was driving. I hadn't even seen Callie fall asleep.

"Let her rest. She looks like hell. Working on her will be easier for you if she's asleep."

"Yeah, good call. Morphine drip?"

"Yeah go with the right arm. You don't want it to get in the way when they have to reset her left arm." Mary nodded and grabbed an IV. She easily found a vein in Callie's arm, and attached the needle to a line that would supply the pain medication. She picked the scissors up again, and cut Callie's already ruined shirt. With the material out of the way, I could see why she was having so much trouble breathing. Her ribs were different shades of purple and yellow. Some of them were definitely not from tonight. I saw a large oval-like shape on her chest, probably from when her foster father stepped on her. Seeing all of these injuries was overwhelming, even for me. I felt frozen with shock and fear.

I was brought out of my trance when Mary spoke out to no one in particular. "With all this bruising, I'd say she has at least two broken ribs. One could either be putting a lot of pressure on her lung, or it could have punctured it. Either one would cause her breathing to be like it is." Neither option sounded good, but I hoped it was pressure, the lesser of two evils.

Britt spoke from the front, "You can't do anything about those here. Work on the head wound."

Mary nodded and inspected the wound. She worked carefully to take the old stitches out. I couldn't watch anymore. The amount of blood that was flowing out made me sick. I looked at Callie's hand instead. She was still unconscious, so I reached for it. I almost pulled my hand away when I felt how cold it was, but I decided that I needed to support Callie. Even if she was unaware of it and probably would have said no if she was awake.

I squeezed her hand and spoke softly to her. "You're gonna be alright Callie. Mary here is gonna get you to the hospital, and then the doctors will take great care of you." I smiled sadly at her. "Jude will be there. I'm sure he'll want to see you, but Lena and I will keep him busy. I promise you that I will take care of Jude until you're okay. And then, when you can be released, we'll make sure you and Jude are safe." I figured talking about Jude would make her feel better, I could see how much she loved him. What I wasn't expecting was a groan from her.

"Callie?" I was worried she would feel uncomfortable with me holding her hand, but she had probably already felt it. If she really disliked it, she would've pulled away. I squeezed her hand tighter to show my support. I almost cried when I felt her squeeze back.

Before I could say anything else, the ambulance came to a quick stop. Britt jumped out of the front seat, and a moment later, the doors to the back flew open. I had to let go of Callie's hand as Britt and Mary worked together to get the stretcher out of the vehicle.

"Sixteen year old female. Abused. Broken ribs, concussion, and dislocated left shoulder. She's having trouble breathing." I heard one of the doctors respond with a few orders that didn't make any sense to me, and then they started wheeling Callie away. I followed as quickly as I could, but when they went through two doors, a nurse stopped me.

"I'm sorry Ma'am, but you can't go in there." I let out a frustrated sigh, but didn't say anything else. I knew I would probably just be in the way if I went with them. "I can take you to the waiting room though." I nodded and went to follow her.

She led me back down the hallway that I had run down, and then to the front desk. She spoke to the woman that was working behind it. "I'm just gonna show this officer the waiting room. I'll be right back." As she turned to lead me again, I called out.

"Wait!" I saw Mary and Britt filling out some paperwork, probably Callie's. I walked over to the two quickly. "Thank you. For taking good care of her." Mary smiled at me.

"Of course." With that, I nodded and went to follow the nurse.

When we made it to the waiting room, I saw Lena and Jude sitting together in the corner. Jude was crying, and Lena was trying her best to comfort him. I could tell his tears were breaking her heart. I turned to the nurse, thanked her, and then headed over to my wife.

"Hey Love. Hey Jude." I gave the two a smile. Jude looked up as soon as he heard his name.

"Where's Callie? Is she okay?"

"The doctor's are taking care of her right now, Bud."

"What's wrong? Did they saw how long it would take?"

"I don't know. They haven't told me anything yet." Jude looked down at his lap, upset that I didn't have any of the answers that he wanted.

Lena spoke up, "We just have to wait here patiently and let the doctors do their job, alright?" Jude nodded, but he didn't look up.

"Lena, can I talk to you for a minute?" She looked up and must have seen the serious look on my face.

"Jude, I'll be right back. Okay?" He nodded again. She gave him a small pat on the back. I noticed that he didn't seem to flinch away from someone's touch like his sister did. I didn't have much to think about why because Lena was starting to walk into the hallway, so Jude couldn't hear our conversation. Lena spoke up even before I was completely out in the hallway.

"How was Callie in the ambulance?" I could hear the desperation in her voice.

"Um, her breathing didn't sound that great. She said her foster father stepped on her chest." I looked at Lena's face to see if I should continue. She looked worried, but she seemed like she could handle it. "The paramedics think she broke a couple ribs. Uh, her left shoulder was dislocated. They also think she has a concussion, and her stitches have to be redone."

"Redone? What did she have stitches for already?"

"There was a robbery earlier today at The Burger Stand. She said the guy hit her when she wouldn't give him the money right away." The shocked expression that Lena had was definitely justified.

"That poor girl. She's been through hell today."

"I don't think it was just today, Love."

"What, so you think those bruises on her face that we saw two weeks ago were from her foster father too?"

"She had old bruises on her ribs too."

"Stef, these kids. I don't know how to describe this feeling. It's like—"

"The twins all over again?" I interrupted her. "I know." I smiled at her and pulled her into a hug. We stayed in the tight embrace and continued the conversation.

"We have to find their social worker. I'm pretty sure they have to be notified if something happens to their kids. We could call Bill, see if the Jacobs sound familiar." I stepped back and ended the embrace, even though neither one of us wanted to let go.

"Okay. I'll do that. You go and sit with Jude, he's obviously comfortable with you." Lena nodded and made her way back into the waiting room, as I found Bill's contact information in my cell.

* * *

 **Lena POV**

Jude was still sitting in the corner of the room. His eyes were still on his lap, and it looked like he was still crying. I wanted to run over and engulf him in the biggest hug I could, but I knew that would probably scare him more than help him. Instead, I walked over to him calmly. I sat beside him and grabbed the hand that was on the arm rest. That was when he finally looked up at me.

"Is Callie gonna die?" His voice was thick with emotion. I could tell sitting here waiting was hurting him. I didn't want to lie to him, I had no idea what would happen to Callie.

"I don't know, Buddy. One thing I do know is that she's a fighter, right? She's gonna fight to stay with you."

"What if she's tired of fighting?" The question held so much meaning. I put my hand on his shoulder as a form of comfort.

"I may not have known Callie and you for long, but I can say that I don't think she would ever get tired of fighting for you." He didn't really respond, so I asked him a question. "Jude what happened tonight?" He locked eyes with me and then looked down again.

"Marc got mad."

"Is Marc your foster father?" He nodded. "Why did he get mad?"

"Callie forgot her check at work after the robbery." So Jude was there too. He didn't seem to be physically injured, at least.

"Why would Callie's money concern Marc?"

"He said her check was the only reason we were living there."

"So he got mad and hit Callie?" Why would anyone hit a child?

"Yeah." He paused. "I shouldn't have gone upstairs like she said to. I could've helped her."

"Jude, what happened to Callie was _not_ your fault!" I could tell that the guilt was eating him up.

"Well then she should've come with me!"

"It's not Callie's fault either. The only person to blame is your foster father." He muttered something, but I couldn't hear it. If he didn't say it very loudly, he probably didn't want me to hear.

"Jude, why didn't you tell me or Stef what was going on?"

"I'm sorry. I—" He stopped suddenly, so I followed his gaze to the entrance of the waiting room. "What's Bill doing here?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Stef POV**

Once I found Bill's number, I hit the call button. The phone rang twice, and then he answered.

"Hello?" The poor guy already sounded stressed.

"Hi, Bill? This is Stephanie Foster."

"Yes, yes. Hi Stef. What do you need? I have a little bit of an emergency with one of my kids right now."

"Do you know the Jacob siblings? Callie and Jude? There's been an incident at their foster home, so I wanted to notify their social worker."

"Yeah. They're my kids. I'm walking into the hospital right now. Were you one of the officers at the scene?"

"Yes, well kind of, it's—"

"I'm sorry. One moment I have to ask one of these nurses where Callie is." It was almost like his voice was echoing now. I looked down the hall and realized it was because I heard him from the entrance and through the phone. I hung up the phone and called his attention toward me.

"Bill!" He looked surprised to see me, as if he wasn't expecting me to stay with the kids.

"Uh, Stef. What are you doing here?"

"Lena and I are waiting to make sure Callie is alright. Lena's in the waiting room with Jude."

"Do you know what happened?"

"I don't know the exact details. But I do know that the foster father they were with was not fit to take care of children. The evidence against him for abuse is overwhelming."

"I'm sorry about that. The man had a clean record with previous kids. There weren't any red flags that would make him seem like a bad guy. I'll make sure I look more carefully for their next placements."

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that—" Bill just had to interrupt me again.

"Excuse me, but I really have to speak with Jude." He brushed past me and went into the waiting room.

* * *

 **Jude POV**

I saw Bill walking into the waiting room and knew he would ask me a million questions right away.

"Jude, what happened?" He almost sounded concerned. "You guys just got there a few weeks ago. Do you realize how hard it is to find a home to take in you _and_ Callie?" I wasn't going to answer him, Callie always talked for me. Lena jumped to my defense.

"Bill! This is not their fault. That man shouldn't have been able to foster any children at all. It was your job to make sure the environment was safe." Bill immediately argued back.

"The house did look safe. There have never been any problems with other kids living there." He turned his attention to me. "Jude, what did Callie do?" He always blamed us, well usually Callie.

"She didn't do anything."

"So he hit her for no reason?"

"She didn't have her check from work to give to him, so he got mad." Before I could continue defending her, a tall man in scrubs walked in.

"Callie Jacob?" I practically jumped out of my chair and ran to the doctor. He smiled down at me, "Are you her brother?" I nodded. "Can I talk to your parents?" I hadn't even noticed Stef was in the room until she spoke up to answer him.

"She's a foster child. Her foster father was the one that landed her here."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I'm afraid I can't let you question her yet, officer. Callie needs to rest and heal before I allow any interrogations." She smiled at the man.

"I'm not here on duty. I'm here as her new foster parent." What? I definitely didn't hear that right.

* * *

 **Stef POV**

I hadn't really discussed this with Lena, but I knew she wouldn't really be mad. She seemed shocked, as did Bill, but not mad. Jude looked me with a confused expression.

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember saying that." Bill spoke what everyone else was thinking.

"Lena and I still have a fostering license. We have already gotten to know Callie and Jude a little bit, and in this situation, Callie needs a good, supportive home. You can't just throw them into another bad situation."

"What, so you and Lena already decided on this? Without their social worker, might I add." I didn't know what to say. I could lie and say yes, but Lena might contradict it accidentally.

"Yes. Stef and I have thought about it ever since we met them." It technically wasn't even a lie.

"I guess it's better than the group home I had for them. We'll fill out the paper work later, okay?"

"Yes. Thank you Bill. We're going to help them."

"I know you will. They're good kids, they just have bad luck. Your home will be a good place for them to have a break." With that, the doctor cleared his throat, grabbing everyone's attention.

"To whom am I relaying Callie's condition?" Bill answered the man.

"I'm her social worker, and these two women will be Callie's foster moms, so all of us." The doctor nodded before starting.

"My name is Doctor Stanton, I worked during Callie's operation. First off, Callie is stable." At least that was a relief. "She came in with a dislocated shoulder, three broken ribs, and a fractured wrist. We restitched the gash on her forehead, and we believe she has a concussion. However, we can't determine if there's any brain damage until she wakes up. Our main concern was her breathing. Both her oxygen and blood pressure levels were low and dropping steadily. Her right lung had collapsed, which in Callie's case was caused by a pneumothorax. One of her broken ribs punctured through the chest wall, causing air to collect between the wall and her lung. We inserted a chest tube to get air in and out for her. Her body seems to be taking well to it. We'll keep the tube there for two to four days unless the lung doesn't seem to be healing properly." I was too curious not to ask.

"What will happen if it doesn't look like it's healing?"

"We can discuss different operations that we can perform if the time comes. For now, just stay positive. I don't see anything else that should cause much concern." The doctor paused. "The anesthesia should wear off at some point during the night. She might be confused about what's going on, so just explain everything gently and then get her to rest. "

Jude was the first to speak up. "Can I see her? I wanna make sure she's okay. I have to be there when she wakes up, or else she'll worry." I didn't doubt his last statement for a second. Callie seemed like she would do just about anything for her brother.

"You can go in, but you need an adult with you. Only three people in there at a time. We can't overwhelm her while she's trying to heal."

"What room is she in?"

"220" Lena nodded and made her way in the direction that Dr. Stanton pointed. I thanked the man and followed Lena and Jude. They got to the room first, and Jude ran in the room before Lena or I could warn him about what he might see. Lena quickly followed, with me right behind her. However, I stopped when Bill tried to enter as well.

"Sorry, the room's reached it's max." I shut the door on him and turned to face Callie's bed. We needed to be alone until Callie woke up, so that when the time came, we could discuss the future. I knew Bill was just trying to do his job, but Callie and Jude are just kids. They need time to process what happened tonight before they get pressured into talking about it.

The sight in front of me brought tears to my eyes. Callie looked even worse than when she was in the ambulance. She wasn't bleeding anymore, but her bruises were much more visible in the bright hospital room. The dark stitches on her forehead and the large bruises on her face contrasted with her pale skin. As my eyes travelled further down, I could see the chest tubes the doctor was talking about. I thought it would have gone down her throat, but it was partially hidden under her hospital gown, inserted somewhere below her armpit. Her left hand was in a black cast and was also resting in a sling for her shoulder. Jude sat in the chair right next to her bed and went to grab her right hand. Lena warned him to be mindful of the IV, so he slowed his reach and picked up her hand carefully. He tangled his fingers in hers and gently squeezed.

"I'm so sorry, Callie. I should've called Stef sooner. I shouldn't have left you alone with Marc. I just got so scared, that I didn't want to argue with you." Tears were falling freely down his cheeks, so I placed my hand on his shoulder comfortingly. I gave him a small squeeze for support.

"Jude, none of this is your fault. You did the right thing. You called me, and then you got yourself to safety."

"But I should've made her come with me. What if she doesn't make it. I won't have anyone left."

"Buddy, the doctor said she was gonna wake up soon. That doesn't sound like not making it, does it? We have to stay positive in this kind of situation." He nodded his head furiously and squeezed Callie's hand a little tighter. He started talking to Callie again.

"I love you, Callie. I wish you would wake up so I can give you the biggest hug ever." Jude looked down at their hands with a sad smile.

* * *

We sat in the room quietly for another hour. Lena and I sat in the chairs off to the side to let Jude be with his sister. Our peace was, however, rudely interrupted.

A nurse walked into the room with a sad look on her face. "I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over. Only one parent can stay overnight with her."

Jude immediately refused. "No. I'm not leaving her here all alone." I spoke up immediately.

"I'll stay with her Jude. She'll be okay."

"Where am I gonna go? I don't have a foster home."

"I meant every word in the waiting room, Buddy. You're gonna go home with Lena. You might just have to wait here for a few minutes while she does some paperwork." He debated what I was saying, but he eventually nodded.

"You have to call if anything happens. Please. I just want to know." The boy sounded so nervous, I didn't have the heart to say no.

"I'll call Lena if there's any news. I promise. Now you two get home and get some rest. Then, you can come back tomorrow morning, okay?" Jude agreed and said goodbye to Callie.

"Night, Cal. I love you. I'll be back tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll be perfectly fine." With that he held her hand one more time, and followed Lena out into the hallway.

I sat beside Callie, taking Jude's spot. I held her hand in my hand, like I had in the ambulance. I was happy to find that it wasn't as cold as it was earlier. Small steps of recovery. I stayed still just watching her breathing, which sounded a lot better now, for almost ten minutes. I started talking to her, about pretty much anything. The one-sided conversation lasted for a half and hour, until I ran out of things to say.

I hated to admit it, but I was exhausted. I just wanted to sleep. My eyes were getting heavy and my head was starting to fall. However, my eyes shot open when I felt a squeeze. I looked Callie over, but she looked the same. Had I imagined that? It felt so real. I started to doubt myself until I felt her squeeze again. She was waking up.

* * *

 **Sorry for any medical mistakes. I don't really know much about it. Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you** **think! I'll probably try to finish this story with one or two more chapters.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Callie POV**

I felt so tired. My whole body hurt. I could hear voices talking, but I had no idea what was being said. I felt small hands lift my right one and squeeze. The quiet voice spoke softly, "Night, Cal. I love you. I'll be back tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll be perfectly fine." Wait, I know that voice.

Jude! Don't leave. Where are you going? I felt his hand leave mine, but I couldn't bring my eyes to open. I wanted to get up and tell him to stay. I wanted to sit up and grab his hand. I wanted to at least squeeze his hand and tell him I was going to be okay too.

None of the things I wanted to happen did, as usual. My body didn't cooperate. I couldn't move at all. I was stuck listening to what was going on around me, and not being able to do anything about it.

I heard the door open, and then close. Jude was gone, I was alone. He was alone in God knows what kind of foster home. I wish I could open my eyes just to see the room I was in. Then I could assess my injuries and see why I was in so much pain.

If I could move, I would have jumped off the bed when I felt a new hand grab mine. I didn't know who it was, but they didn't seem like they were here to hurt me. The person just held my hand for what felt like forever. They started to talk to me, about Marc. He was going to jail for a long time, at least that was what the voice said.

As soon as the person started talking, I knew it was a woman. Maybe it was an empathetic nurse that felt bad for me. I mean a sixteen year old girl gets abused by her foster father, and then she's left alone for the night in her hospital room. I figured that was it, until the woman started talking about Jude.

"Don't you worry, Callie. Jude is safe at home with Lena." I stopped listening after that. Lena, as in the nice lady that Jude adored? Maybe that's why he didn't sound worried about going to a foster home alone. He trusted Lena and—, wait, why was it just Lena? Shouldn't Stef be with him too? Then it dawned on me, the woman wasn't a nurse that was pitying me, it was Stef.

I felt stupid for taking so long to figure that out. The voice sounded familiar, but I hadn't been able to place it before now. My head still felt kind of foggy. Maybe that's why I was slow to put two and two together.

Eventually, Stef stopped talking. She probably ran out of things to say. I felt bad for not being able to respond to anything she was saying. Her hand was still in mine, so I figured if I could at least squeeze it, that would be something. I had to put a lot of focus into it, but I think I squeezed just a bit. Stef didn't say anything, so I doubted that I even moved at all. I had to try again. She had to know I was at least trying.

I felt drained after, but I was positive that I grabbed her hand this time. I heard movement next to me, and knew she had to of felt it.

"Callie? Sweets, can you hear me? It's Stef. Can you open your eyes?" I've been trying to do that for like an hour. I wanted to talk back, but nothing came out of my mouth. I pried my eyes open, but as soon as the bright lights hit me, I immediately closed them again. They made my headache more intense. I heard a groan, and realized that it came from me. Stef's hand left mine, and for a moment, I thought my groan may have sounded rude.

"That's great, Callie! Sorry about the lights, I forgot about the concussion." Wow, she sounds excited. "I shut the lights off. Can you try again?" This time, when I opened my eyes, I could look around the now dark room. There was only a soft glow coming from under the door. I looked over to Stef, who had now taken my hand again. She was smiling down at me. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. When can I get out of here?"

"Not for at least two days. Your right lung collapsed. The doctors had to put a chest tube in to help it heal. They said it had to stay in for two to four days." Two to four days? I couldn't leave Jude alone for that alone.

"Where's Jude? Is he alright?" I already knew where he was, but I needed to hear it again.

"He's with Lena. He's safe Callie. No one in that house is going to hurt him. All you need to worry about is getting better, okay?" When I didn't respond, Stef kept talking. "I know this is probably hard for you to let us in, but you have to trust us. We're trying to help."

"I know. I'm trying." I tried to keep my answers short, but I also had to keep my promise to Jude.

Stef squeezed my hand a little tighter, and then let go. "I'll go get the doctor." With that, she was gone. I was alone. For some reason, for the first time in six years, the loneliness didn't feel comforting. I would normally love being left by myself, it insured safety. But now I missed Stef's presence. The silence in the room felt cold, and I didn't like it. I found myself hoping that she would be back soon.

The door opened, and in walked a man in scrubs, probably my doctor. Thankfully, Stef followed close behind him. "I assume it's okay if your foster mom is in while we talk?" What? Foster mom? Were the drugs I was getting messing with my head. "Is that a problem?" I hadn't responded to the man.

"Um, sorry but I must be a little confused. My foster mom?" I looked at Stef inquisitively, and she smiled.

"Lena and I convinced Bill to let you stay with us. He was going to send the two of you to a group home, and we still have a fostering license, so why not?" She tried to play it off as no big deal, but I knew otherwise. They already had three kids to take care of, and now they were adding two more to the mix.

"Thank you." That statement didn't feel like it held enough gratitude. Stef and Lena really saved my ass, and Jude's. Group homes were never good news. The people that ran them never cared about the kids that lived there.

Stef didn't respond, she didn't need to. Silence filled the room, so the doctor spoke up.

"Now that we cleared that up, is it okay to proceed?" Stef and I both nodded. "Alright, well Callie, you came in with quite a few injuries." He listed off all of the things wrong with me, and now I knew why I was in so much pain. "Do you have any questions?"

"No. I don't think so."

"Okay. How are you feeling? Are you in pain?"

"A little." That was a lie. I'm pretty sure both adults knew it too.

"Okay. If the pain worsens, just press that button next to you. It will pump some morphine into you." I nodded. "Well, if neither of you have questions, I have other patients that need some assistance." Stef was the only one to answer him.

"Of course. Thank you Dr. Stanton." They shook hands, and then he left.

Stef walked over to my bed and pressed the morphine button.

"What are you doing?" Was she trying to make me unaware of my surroundings on purpose?

"I can tell you're in pain, Callie. This is going to help you, so you can get some rest. A few officers will probably want to take your statement tomorrow. You'll need your energy." I guess that made sense. I remembered my promise to Jude and Isaac, I had to trust these people.

Wait, Isaac. I had to call him. I said I would call if something happened, but I left the piece of paper with his number on it at Marc's house. I only had one other option. "Um, your son, Brandon, I think. He knows Isaac, right?"

"Yes. They're pretty good friends."

"Do you think you could get Isaac's phone number from him? I promised I'd call him if something happened. He tends to worry a lot."

"Sure. I'll text Brandon right now. You can call him tomorrow. It's kinda late now."

"Thanks."

"Do you mind if I ask how you two know each other?" She probably wanted to know if I was trying to mess up her perfect son.

"Uh, Brandon came in to The Burger Stand like a week ago. Isaac introduced us."

"No, not Brandon. Isaac."

"Oh. Uh we were foster siblings about a year ago. Jude and I got kicked out when I took food that I wasn't supposed to have. Isaac and I looked out for each other there." Why was I opening up to this woman so much. It was like I couldn't stop talking.

"Was that home abusive?"

"No. Just too many kids and too little food. Was the home you got him out of bad?"

"Pretty bad yeah. Brandon met at some party and they became friends. He started to notice all these bruises on him, so Lena and I got him out. He's safe now. He has a good home, and he goes to Anchor Beach Charter School."

"Good. He deserves it."

"Callie. You and Jude deserve a good home too." I nodded at her.

"I know. It just seems kinda far away."

"Lena and I are going to help you and Jude just like we helped Isaac. We'll find you a good, safe home." That kind of hurt. They said they cared, but then they didn't want us. I thought about their other kids, and I realized they probably just didn't have the room.

"I know. Thank you. I don't think you realize how much that means to me and Jude." She smiled at me and took my hand.

"Get some rest, Sweets." I didn't even bother to correct the nickname. I was too tired. I closed my eyes and fell asleep quicker than I thought was possible. It's a lot easier to sleep when you feel safe.

* * *

 **Lena POV**

I couldn't fall asleep. I was worried about Callie, I was worried about Jude. Callie was at the hospital, and Stef still hadn't called. She was supposed to wake up tonight. Stef was supposed to call if anything changed, so I was still waiting. Jude was downstairs on the couch for tonight. I felt bad, but we didn't have an extra bed for him to use. He was probably just as worried as I was. I decided to go check on him since I couldn't sleep anyway.

I made my way downstairs and into the foyer where Jude was resting. He was so nervous about leaving Callie alone earlier. He wanted to stay with her until she woke up, but now he looked so peaceful. He trusted me a lot easier than Callie did, and he seemed to still have his innocence. I guess Callie had to sacrifice those things so Jude could have them. That broke my heart. That girl loved her brother with all of her heart, he was everything to her. I could tell that Jude returned the same feelings. They were such great kids, I was glad we got to give them a safe place to stay. However, I found it hard to think of finding them a forever home that wasn't ours.

I knew I couldn't make the decision by myself, but Stef was the one that offered to foster them in the first place. I don't see why she would do that if she didn't already care about the two siblings.

My thoughts were interrupted when my cell started vibrating in my pocket. I looked at the screen to see a picture of Stef. It had to be about Callie. I went outside so I wouldn't disturb anyone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Love." She sounded exhausted.

"How's Callie?"

"She's fine. She woke up a little while ago. I didn't want to leave her alone for too long while she was awake, so I waited to call you. She's asleep now. How's Jude?"

"He's asleep on the couch."

"Good. Tonight was tough for the both of them. They'll both need their rest for their statements tomorrow."

"Do they have to do it alone?"

"They can't be together, but we can go with them if they let us."

"We can't just let them do this on their own, Stef. They've been alone for too long."

"I know, Love. But we can't push them. I actually had a decent conversation with Callie tonight, we can't force her to open up. She'll do it at her own pace. Trying to push ourselves in will only make her close off more."

"What if you took their statements? So they're at least a little more comfortable."

"You know I can't." I sighed in disappointment.

"Alright, Lena. I have to go. I think Callie's waking up again."

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you too. See you tomorrow morning." She ended the call.

I went back to the foyer to check on Jude one more time. He was still sleeping, so I made my way to my bedroom. I could not let these kids go into another bad home. I had to talk to Stef and the other kids about what I was feeling. The thought of Callie and Jude leaving broke my heart. Actually letting it happen would just about kill me.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! I'll try to write and post the last chapter as soon as possible! I know some** **people wanted the story to be longer, but with school starting soon, I wanted to wrap it up. School is the priority, so updates would've been a lot less frequent. Then I'd feel bad for leaving readers hanging. So, if there's anything you want to see happen before the story ends, let me know. I'll try to put it in.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Here's the last chapter. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Stef POV**

I had tried so hard not to fall asleep. I wanted to be awake in case Callie woke up or needed something. I realized I had failed when a knock at the door and the calling of my name woke me.

I turned to see if it was a doctor or nurse that had to check in on their patient. However, I immediately became anxious when I met the apologetic eyes of Gomez. He waved me outside, so that we could talk without disturbing Callie.

"What can I do for you Gomez?" I already knew the answer.

"I gotta take Callie's statement."

"Right now? I mean the poor girl's still asleep."

"The sooner the better, Stef. You know that." I nodded. I did know that.

"Can you let me wake her? She's already uncomfortable and scared as it is."

"Of course. I don't want to make this hard on her. If she wants, you can stay with her while she talks to me." I smiled in thanks before making my way back into the room.

I couldn't completely see Callie, I didn't want to turn on the lights and give her a headache again, so I cautiously moved to her side. I felt around the mattress for her hand and squeezed when I found it.

"Callie? Sweets, I'm sorry, but you gotta wake up for me." She startled me when she responded with no tiredness in her voice.

"Are the cops here to take my statement?" She had probably heard the whole conversation.

"Yeah. I wish they didn't have to do it right now, but they want to do it while all of the details are clear in your memory." I was going to smile reassuringly, but then I remembered that she probably couldn't see me very well.

"I don't think I'll ever be able to forget it."

"Oh, Callie. I'm so sorry, that's not what I meant-" she obviously didn't like the pity in my voice.

"It's fine." She snapped. Then she continued in a softer voice, "It's not your fault. Is the cop gonna come in or...?" She was changing the subject.

"Yup. I'll bring him in. Do you want me to stay with you while you give your statement?" Callie looked down at her casted arm.

"You don't have to."

"It's no problem. I'd feel better in here with you anyway." I had to make it seem like it was for me, or else she never would have accepted the offer. She answered with a small "okay," so I got Gomez. Before we entered I gave the man a warning.

"Be gentle. She's had a really rough night. She'll close herself off if you push too hard." He nodded his understanding and followed me into Callie's room.

"Hi Callie. My name's Officer Steven Gomez. I'm here to take your statement about what happened last night. Do you mind if turn the light on?"

"That's fine." Callie's voice sounded empty. She was distancing herself from the situation.

When Gomez flicked the lights on, I expected Callie to at least wince a little, but she didn't move at all. Her face remained blank and showed no sign of the pain she had to be feeling in her head.

"Okay, I'm not sure if you remember me from the robbery scene, but I tried to take your statement there. Why don't you tell me what happened after you left work and everything that occurred afterwards." It wasn't a question, more like a statement.

"Uh, Jude and I walked home. He wanted to call Stef about our foster father, but I told him no."

"Why didn't you want him to call Stef? Why did he want to? Didn't you just get home?"

"She didn't need to worry about us. Stef has her own kids and her own problems. She doesn't need to take on ours too." I had to butt in, even though I knew I wasn't supposed to.

"Callie, I gave you my number for a reason. I wanted you and Jude to be safe." She didn't acknowledge me in the slightest. Instead, she continued with her story.

"So um, I told him it was only for huge emergencies, a last resort kinda thing. He wanted to call because our foster father, Marc, had lost his job recently. He'd been home all of the time now and drank day and night. Jude was nervous that he would be in a bad mood."

"Was he often in a bad mood?"

"Whenever he was drunk, so yeah I guess. More so since he lost his job. He didn't have anywhere to be, so he didn't have to care about being sober."

"How'd he support two kids and himself with no job?"

"He mainly fostered us for the checks, so he had to really rely on those. He said the only reason he kept us was because he took my checks from work. Because of the robbery, I completely forgot to collect my pay. When he found out I didn't have any money for him, he freaked out."

"Freaked out how?"

"Um, he punched me once and I fell. I was kinda already dizzy after I got hit at the robbery. Then he just kept kicking me over and over again. He stepped on me a few times to knock the air out of lungs. He didn't stop until the cops got there."

"Where was your brother during this?"

"I told Jude to run upstairs and lock the door until I told him he could come out. I didn't want him anywhere near Marc."

"And how were the police notified?"

"Jude ran to the kitchen to grab the home phone before he ran upstairs. He called Stef." I'm so glad that boy called me. I didn't want to think about how much worse this situation could have been. At the thought, I reached out and grabbed Callie's hand. I held it tightly in mine to show my support.

"Alright Callie. I think that's all for questions. We just have to document your injuries and you'll be all set." She was not going to like this.

"Can't you just get that from my medical file?" I exchanged a look with Gomez.

"They need pictures, Callie."

"What? No!" She had tensed immediately. "I'm not letting anyone take pictures of me."

"Callie. Please if you want Marc to go to jail for a very long time, you need to let them take pictures. I'll leave the room if it makes you more comfortable." I didn't want to, but I had to get her to do this.

"I'm not letting some random guy take pictures of me. No." She was getting very defensive. I understood why the idea made her anxious though. Gomez spoke up.

"What if Stef takes them? You kinda know her and she's a girl." This was totally against protocol, so I was not expecting him to throw out this strategy.

Callie hesitated and looked at me. I looked write back with the most comforting smile I could muster. She sighed, "I guess."

"Okay. I'll leave the room. Just grab me from the hallway when you're done." With that, he handed me a camera and went into the hallway. I turned back to Callie, who wouldn't look up from the floor.

"I know this is awkward, Sweets. We'll go as quickly as we can, okay?" She nods, not even looking at me. I know the affirmative shake of her head is the only response I'll get, so I take it as an okay to start. I explained what I was going to do before I moved. I didn't want to startle her, and have Callie close herself off even more.

"Callie, I'm gonna take a few pictures of your face and then your arm, okay?"

"Mmhm" I hated that she wouldn't talk to me. But I knew I had to do the job before I could try to get her to warm up to me.

The first few pictures were fine. Callie stayed still and let me take them with no problem. I knew the next few would not be so easy.

"Okay, Callie. I have to get a few pictures of your ribs and chest." That got a response. Callie's head shot up and looked at me.

"What? Why? You have other pictures. Isn't that enough?"

"Sorry, Sweets. I gotta take pictures of everything."

"You've got to be kidding me." She sat up in the bed slowly with a few gasps of pain that broke my heart. She turned her back to me once she was in an upright position. "I don't think I can untie it with one arm." She was finally asking for help. Even if she didn't really have any other choice, it was progress.

I got the hospital gown undone, so she turned around to face me again. I could tell she was nervous by the way she completely avoided my gaze with her eyes.

"I just have to move it to the side okay? Just for a few quick photos and then we're done."

"Mmhm" she was back to not using words.

I reached for the gown and held it to the side so I could see her ribs. They were such a dark purple color, that I knew she couldn't not be in excruciating pain. I tried not to show any emotions. I didn't want Callie to feel anymore uncomfortable than she already was. I took the pictures of her ribs quickly and then moved my eyes to her chest. Right under her neck, I could practically see the boot print from when Marc stepped on her. I wanted to cry for the awful things Callie had been through yesterday, but I had to stay strong for her. I took two pictures, hoping one of them came out okay. Since I was done, I dropped the gown.

"Turn around. I'll tie your gown back up." Callie turned without question. She flinched a little when my hand grazed her back and she immediately apologized.

"Sorry, sorry." She shook her head slightly.

"That's alright." I figured accepting the apology would be better than arguing that it wasn't her fault.

I helped Callie back into bed and told her I'd be right back.

"I just have to give Gomez his camera back, okay?" Callie nodded at me, so I went into the hallway.

"How'd it go?"

"It was okay. You have plenty of evidence so this bastard better go away for quite a while."

"That's the plan." He paused. "Thanks Stef. I know that wasn't easy to do."

"Thank you for letting me do it. I think you would've had an even tougher time with her."

"I gotta get these to the station. Good luck, Stef."

"Thank you." He made his way to exit the building. He stopped to hold the door open for someone that was entering, and he smiled when he saw a familiar face. "Hey Lena. Stef's over there." I saw Lena, with Jude right behind her. I waved over to them. Jude ran to my side.

"Can I see Callie? I really need to see her. Lena said she was awake." I smiled at the little boy.

"Of course you can see your sister. I'm sure she's excited to see you." I pointed to the door, "Get in there buddy." He didn't need me to tell him twice. He rushed past me and went right into the room. I turned to Lena.

"How was he last night?"

"He slept pretty well. He didn't eat much this morning though. He was probably too excited about seeing Callie." I smiled and nodded.

"Should we head in?" Lena looked over my shoulder at the kids.

"Let them have a minute. Besides, we have to talk."

"Okay. What about?"

"Well, I was thinking about how we told bill we would foster them until he can find them something soon. And I'm not sure why, but the thought of sending either of them away just made me sad."

"So...? You want to like adopt them?" When she didn't answer right way, I continued. "Lena, we just met them two weeks ago."

"I know. I know. But come on. You feel that connection too. Don't you?" I sighed.

"Of course I do. We can't jump the gun on this though. Not with these kids. Callie does not trust easily. Offering to adopt her right now would be way too overwhelming. How about we tell Bill to stop looking for other homes for them. We'll foster them and see how that works out first."

"Okay. I think I can do that." She smiled at me.

"Come on. Let's tell them the good news." I put my arm around Lena's shoulders and kissed her cheek before leading her into the room. We were met with the sight of Callie and Jude laying together in the small hospital bed.

"Hey guys. Callie, how are you feeling?"

"I'm doing okay." She answered Lena with hesitancy lacing her voice. I decided to speak up.

"So we have something that we need to talk to you both about." I looked at the two, asking for permission. Both nodded, but didn't say anything. They looked like they thought I was going to yell at them. "Lena and I talked, and we believe that you guys need a good place to stay. We're gonna talk to Bill about fostering you guys for longer than a few days." Lena jumped in.

"We want you guys to feel safe. You've been through a lot lately and deserve a break. We would both feel better if we absolutely knew you were getting that break. What better way to make sure you're safe than to have you stay with us?" I studied the kids' faces. Jude looked excited, like he had already felt safe in our home. Callie looked skeptical, as if she was waiting for a 'but'.

* * *

 **Callie POV**

They wanted to foster us. Why? Why would they want to help us so badly? What is it that they wanted in return?

"What about your other kids? They're fine with you two taking in two more kids?" I had to find the downside to this offer before I was blindsided.

"They'll be fine. They'll understand." Stef answered me. Maybe they were just genuinely kind people. I looked at Jude, who had the biggest smile on his face. He truly wanted this.

"Okay. Thank you." I wasn't quite sure how to answer their offer, but both women smiled, so I figured my response was sufficient.

"Callie, you still have a couple days in the hospital, but Jude can still stay at our house. As soon as you're released, you'll get to come home too."

Lena had called it home. I hadn't had a home in six years. It was always just a house, some wood and stone. Now, I was being offered a home with two beautifully kind women. A place to rest and be safe, maybe even loved. That was another unfamiliar concept, love. I loved Jude with all of my heart, and he loved me, but there was no one else. No one else that loved us, or even cared for us. It was weird to even consider the possibility of someone actually loving me and Jude again. But maybe, just maybe, if we could get through the long road of healing together, then some love would be uncovered along the way.

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading this story! I really appreciate all of the favs, follows, and reviews! I did leave the story at a spot where I could continue it on purpose. If people are interested, I could try to write a sequel. If you'd rather have me do a totally different topic for a new story, let me know. If you have any suggestions or ideas about what I should write next, if you even want me to write another story, you can PM me or just put it in the reviews for this story. Again, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this, I had a lot of fun writing it :)**


End file.
